The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force have agreed to a three-day truce, allowing more Sudanese to flee and foreign countries to extract citizens.
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| Evacuees from war-torn Sudan sit inside a military plane as they wait to be processed by members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) upon their arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya |
The fighting has turned residential areas into war zones, killing at least 459 people, wounding over 4,000, and cutting water, power, and food in a nation already reliant on aid. Foreign countries have airlifted embassy staff out of Khartoum, the capital, and some are also extracting their private citizens.
Sudanese families have used the lull to emerge from their homes and search for transport to take them to safety, worrying that the departure of foreigners would leave locals more at risk. The situation for those remaining in Africa's third-largest country is deteriorating fast, with some expressed dismay at the departure of some international aid agencies and diplomats.
One Khartoum resident, who declined to give his name, said he feared that with fewer international observers, fighting forces would show less respect for civilians. Yassir Arman, a leading figure in the civilian political coalition the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), urged humanitarian organizations and the international community to help restore water and electricity and send generators to hospitals. Food, clean water, medicines, and fuel are in short supply, and communications and electricity are limited, with prices skyrocketing.
The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had brokered the ceasefire, which followed two days of intense negotiations. Air strikes and ground fighting had shaken Omdurman, and there were also clashes in Khartoum. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the violence in a country that flanks the Red Sea, Horn of Africa, and Sahel regions risks a catastrophic conflagration that could engulf the whole area and beyond.
