Fighting rages in Sudan hours before truce expires
Gunshots and artillery fire rocked the Sudanese capital on Monday, the last day of a frequently breached ceasefire, as calls for civilians to arm themselves stoked fears the six-week war will intensify. Residents said they could hear street battles in northern Khartoum, as well as artillery fire in the south of the city. Since the truce began a week ago, frightened residents have ventured out to try and get food or water, the costs of which they say have doubled since the start of the war. But many families continue to shelter in place, rationing water and electricity while trying desperately to avoid stray gunfire in the city of more than five million people – nearly 700,000 of whom have fled, according to the United Nations. In Darfur, on Sudan's western border with Chad, continued fighting "blatantly disregards ceasefire commitments", according to Toby Harward, of the United Nations refugee agency. "Intermittent fighting between Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher, North Darfur over the last few days" has seen civilians killed, homes looted and tens of thousands newly displaced in the already war-ravaged region, Harward said. The persistent fighting has impeded delivery of essential humanitarian aid needed by 25 million people, more than half the population, according to the UN. A week ago, representatives of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy turned-enemy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary RSF, signed a written agreement to pause the incessant air strikes, artillery fire and street battles in order to allow in much-needed aid and restore essential services. But by the seventh day of the truce – due to expire at 9:45 pm (1945 GMT) on Monday – no humanitarian corridors had been secured, and relief supplies had only trickled in, including to replenish the few hospitals that are still functioning in the capital. (AFP)