KHARTOUM (Reuters) -
Clashes between rival military factions broke out on Wednesday in Sudan’s capital, residents said, threatening to shatter a fragile ceasefire designed to allow for the delivery of aid and lay the ground for a more lasting truce.
The ceasefire deal, which is being monitored by Saudi Arabia and the United States as well as the warring parties, comes after five weeks of intensive warfare in the capital Khartoum and outbursts of violence in other areas of the country, including the western region of Darfur.
The fighting pits Sudan’s army against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and has escalated a humanitarian crisis, forcing over 1.3 million people to flee their homes and threatening to destabilize the wider region.
The ceasefire had brought a relative lull in fighting in Khartoum on Tuesday, although little sign of a rapid scale-up in humanitarian relief.
Witnesses reported clashes in several areas of the capital on Wednesday afternoon.
West of central Khartoum columns of black smoke could be seen rising into the air, and there was shelling near an army camp in southern Khartoum, they said.
In Bahri, one of the three cities around the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers that make up Sudan’s greater capital, the sound of clashes and artillery fire could be heard.
Witnesses in Omdurman, the third city, reported that an army fighter plane had been shot down, and videos posted on social media appeared to show the incident. The footage could not immediately be verified.
Earlier, residents reported artillery fire near the Wadi Sayidna military base on the outskirts of Omdurman.
The ceasefire was agreed to on Saturday following talks in Jeddah mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Previous ceasefire announcements have failed to stop the fighting.
The conflict in Sudan erupted as plans for an internationally backed political transition toward elections under a civilian government were set to be finalised, bringing sustained air strikes and ground fighting to the capital for the first time. Many residents are struggling to survive as they face prolonged water and power cuts, a collapse of health services and widespread lawlessness and looting.