Heavy gunfire in Sudan as Eid ceasefire calls ignored

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

More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted on 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 Hemedti.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said that overnight, as the Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the Muslim Ramadan month of fasting began, "several areas of Khartoum were bombed" and reported "shelling and clashes" for the sixth straight night.

We were told today that the market in Al-maseed was looted by RSF. Market women were beaten and injured. Things were burned. Someone said “they took everything even the vegetables.” #Sudan_updates

— Nisrin Elamin (@minlayla77) April 21, 2023

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 Secretary of State 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 (0400 GMT).

But, like two previous 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.

Heavy shelling Khartoum. A friend shared this now. It is the 4th eid in a row, that the generals serve blood to the people who challenged them peacefully demanding freedom, peace, justice, soldiers to their barracks & the janajweed dissolved. #SudanCrisis pic.twitter.com/JKZYETpibC

— Mohanad Hashim (@moehash1) April 20, 2023

'Nightmare scenario' 

For the first time since hostilities began a week ago, Burhan appeared on television.

"For Eid this year, our country is bleeding: destruction, desolation and the sound of bullets have taken precedence over joy," he said in a pre-recorded video, which showed him sitting behind a desk in military uniform.

"We hope that we will come out of this ordeal more united... a single army, a single people... towards a civilian power."

The International Crisis Group (IGC) warned urgent steps were needed to stop a descent into "full-blown civil war", warning "the nightmare scenario that many feared in Sudan is unfolding."

The World Food Programme warned the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people -- one-third of the population -- need aid.

It has suspended its Sudan operations after the killing of three WFP workers on Saturday.

Burhan and Daglo's bitter dispute centred on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan's democratic transition.

Civilians are becoming increasingly desperate with thousands risking the dangerous streets to flee Khartoum, with many reporting streets strewn with corpses.

International efforts are being planned for the potential evacuation of citizens, including with the United States deploying forces for the possible airlift of US embassy staff.

Hospitals shelled

Medics have warned of a catastrophe, with over two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states rendered "out of service" by the fighting, the doctors' union said.

Four hospitals in Obeid in North Kordofan state had also been "shelled".

The World Health Organization said it had reports of almost 330 people killed and 3,200 wounded across Sudan, but medics fear the death toll is likely to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals.

Burhan and Daglo toppled autocratic president Omar al-Bashir together in April 2019 following massive protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021, they again worked together in a coup to oust the civilian government installed after Bashir's downfall, derailing an internationally backed transition to democracy.

"With neither Burhan nor Hemeti appearing ready to back down, the situation could get much worse," the ICG think tank said, adding that while some analysts thought the army would succeed in on its "home turf" in Khartoum, the risk of an all-out conflict remained.

"Even if the army eventually does secure the capital, and Hemeti retreats to Darfur, a civil war could well follow, with potentially destabilising impact in neighbouring Chad, the Central African Republic, Libya and South Sudan", the ICG added.