A tenuous truce that was extended in the early hours of Friday has already begun to falter. The army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, have both accused each other of attacks and resumed fighting.
Under the auspices of US and Saudi mediation, both groups had agreed to extend a 72-hour cease-fire as of early Friday. The plan was for the truce to last for another 72 hours. However, the RSF has accused the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, of launching airstrikes on RSF bases in Jebel Aulia and Omdurman on Friday. The RSF claimed that these attacks had hampered the evacuation of diplomatic missions and the movement of citizens to safe areas. The RSF’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, stated that the cease-fire violations had confused the public, who were depending on the humanitarian truce to get their basic needs met.
On the other hand, the army has accused the RSF of attacking its forces in Jebel Aulia. The army claimed that it had successfully repelled the attack and destroyed several RSF vehicles. While it is unclear if the two groups were referring to the same fighting, it seems likely that they were. Jebel Aulia is approximately 40 kilometres south of Khartoum, and like the capital, it is situated on the banks of the White Nile.
According to reports by local residents, there were clashes in several areas of Khartoum, including the upscale Kafouri neighbourhood, around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace, and the vicinity of the Khartoum International Airport, the French AFP news agency said.
Since the conflict began on April 15, multiple cease-fire agreements have been announced, but none have led to a full cessation of fighting. Nevertheless, the most recent cease-fire, brokered by the United States, allowed for a lull in fighting, which enabled further evacuations out of Khartoum and the rest of Sudan.
After the number of British citizens seeking evacuation began to decline and about 1,500 individuals had been rescued from the strife-torn Sudan by British planes, the UK announced on Saturday that it would discontinue its airlift operations for its citizens and their relatives. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden conveyed to British media that flights from the Wadi Saeedna airfield near the Sudanese capital Khartoum will halt on Saturday. “Within the next 24 hours, that is by six o’clock UK time tomorrow, people should anticipate us to terminate those flights,” he added.
Dowden dismissed allegations that London was deserting any British citizens or their dependents in Sudan, highlighting that “every single British national who has come forward with their eligible dependents has been safely airlifted.” He emphasized that the UK would continue to provide consular assistance at exit routes as well as at the eastern city of Port Sudan.
After completing their rescue mission in Sudan, the German Bundeswehr returned to their home country. Upon their arrival near Hannover, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, from the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, from the environmentalist Green Party, received the almost 400 troop members, mostly paratroopers, who had flown from Jordan in four A400M aircraft on Friday.
In a statement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expressed his gratitude to all those involved in this “challenging and dangerous” mission. Pistorius commended the troops for their excellent performance, stating that “they are there when you need them.”
Baerbock reported that only “a very, very small number” of Germans were still in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, but there was still a possibility of them being evacuated by planes from other nations.
According to their own records, from Sunday to Wednesday, the German Armed Forces evacuated more than 700 people from over 40 nations from war-torn Sudan, with over 200 of them being Germans. During the evacuation mission, up to 1,000 soldiers were involved at times. The deployment of the Bundeswehr was approved by an unusually high majority count in the Bundestag, the German parliament, on Wednesday.
Despite the ongoing fighting, various measures have been taken to evacuate civilians and ensure their safety. Many Sudanese citizens have relocated to more secure areas, while neighbouring countries have also received refugees.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia announced that two ships had arrived in Jeddah to evacuate citizens of multiple countries from Sudan through the Red Sea. According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, nearly 3,000 citizens, including 119 Saudis, have been evacuated since the start of the conflict.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, other neighbouring countries have also taken in thousands of refugees. Egypt reported on Thursday that it has provided shelter to 16,000 people, while Chad has taken in 20,000 and 10,000 have crossed into South Sudan.
On Friday, the United Nations sounded the alarm regarding the ongoing violence in Sudan for the past two weeks, which has resulted in recent prison breaks. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN’s rights office, expressed deep concern over the situation during a press conference in Geneva. “The prison breaks have caused us significant alarm,” she said. “We fear the potential for further violence amidst a culture of impunity that has developed.”
The security vacuum created by the fighting has led to numerous reports of prisoners breaking free. Some of those who escaped are believed to be allies of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted from power. Shamdasani noted that the jailbreaks are indicative of a broader trend of impunity, which encourages those responsible for violence to act without fear of consequences.
Shamdasani also expressed worry about the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Sudan. She accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of forcibly evicting residents from densely populated areas of Khartoum. This has resulted in looting, extortion, severe shortages of basic necessities such as food, water, and electricity, limited access to healthcare, communication, and cash due to bank closures.
The ongoing violence in Sudan has claimed the lives of at least 512 people, with over 4,190 individuals injured.
According to the Turkish Defence Ministry, a military transport plane, a Turkish C-130 Hercules, was targeted by light weapons while on its way to retrieve Turkish citizens. The incident occurred on Friday, but the aircraft managed to land safely with no reported injuries.
The Sudanese army alleged that the RSF was responsible for the attack as the plane was preparing to land at Wadi Sayidna airport. They stated that the attack had destroyed the fuel container and caused injury to one staff member. However, the RSF denied the accusation and called it false.
The paramilitary group stated that they had adhered to the cease-fire and had no control over the area where the plane was attacked. They also claimed that they had no forces in the vicinity of the location. As a result, the group asserted that the army should take full responsibility for the attack.
