Fighting is continuing in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, despite a truce that was supposed to have started on Tuesday. The ceasefire was brokered by international players, but forces loyal to General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo accused each other of violating it and fought for key locations in the city. Residents have heard sounds of gunfire and explosions in different parts of the capital, particularly around the military’s headquarters and the Republican Palace. Only a few people ventured out and small crowds were seen outside some bakeries.
The truce was put in place after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called both generals and emphasised the need for peace. Sudan has experienced more than a dozen coups since gaining independence in 1958. Dagalo and Burhan were powerful enablers of former prime minister Omar al-Bashir’s dictatorship before standing up against him and even conspiring to dismantle the civilian movement demanding his ouster in 2019. They forced former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, in 2022, who led the first transitional government and set up another transitional Framework Agreement under international pressure but only to preserve power for themselves.
The UN has reported that at least 185 people were killed and more than 1,800 were injured in the recent violence, but the true number of both wounded and dead is thought to be far higher. Many wounded people were unable to reach hospitals as those were being shelled.
Top diplomats from several nations are working hard to prevent Sudan from slipping into another civil war and pushing its 46 million residents into further poverty.
