Heavy gunfire in Sudan as Eid ceasefire calls ignored

(AFP) - Sudan’s warring forces battled on Friday with heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country, as they ignored appeals by world powers for an end-of-Ramazan ceasefire.

More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy,

Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who is commonly known as Hemeti.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said that overnight, as the Eidul Fitr celebrations marking the end of Ramazan began, “several areas of Khartoum were bombed” and reported “shelling and clashes” for the sixth straight night.

Khartoum has seen some of the fiercest fighting with air strikes and tanks firing in densely packed districts, with most of its five million people sheltering at home in baking heat without
electricity, food or water. Communications are heavily disrupted.

Both UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US State Secretary Antony Blinken called separately for a ceasefire of “at least” three days to mark Eid, as explosions and gunfire resounded in Khartoum.

The RSF, a powerful force formed from members of the Janjaweed militia that led years of extreme violence in the western Darfur region, said they would commit to a 72-hour ceasefire starting at dawn (4am GMT).

But, like two previously declared 24-hour ceasefires, it failed to take hold.

The crackle of intense gunfire continued Friday morning, with columns of black smoke rising across the capital.