Violent clashes between the Sudanese army and paramilitaries resumed Sunday in Khartoum, as a fragile three-day truce, which has never really been respected on the ground, is about to expire. Millions of Sudanese have been trapped in bombardment and anti-aircraft fire since the April 15 outbreak of a ruthless power struggle between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane’s army and his number two, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (FSR), particularly feared paramilitaries.
Like the first truce, its extension has not silenced the guns in Khartoum and other regions, especially Darfur. This ceasefire expires Sunday at midnight. The war has left 528 dead and 4,599 injured, according to widely underestimated official figures, and both sides accuse each other of violating the truce.
On Sunday, witnesses reported fighting near army headquarters in Khartoum and airstrikes in Omdurman, a northern suburb of the capital. “There are very violent fights, shots ring out in my street every few minutes since dawn,” reports a witness. As the fighting enters its third week, the capital’s five million people, when not fleeing, remain barricaded, trying to survive shortages of food, water and electricity.