Fighting in Sudan resumes despite talks between warring factions

In Sudan, the army and rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fought again on Wednesday. According to eyewitness accounts, there were heavy air strikes and gunfights, especially in the northern part of the capital Khartoum.

Heavy fighting also broke out in the neighboring town of Omdurman. The Sudanese medical commission reported fighting in the town of Kosti, over 300 kilometers south of Khartoum.

In the country on the Horn of Africa, a long-simmering power struggle between the army commanded by de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF paramilitary unit of its vice-president Mohammed Hamdan Daglo escalated. The two generals had once taken over the leadership in Sudan through joint military coups. Questions about the division of power led to a rift between the two camps, which culminated in open fighting on April 15.

The fighting continues despite indirect talks between the parties to the conflict, which have been taking place since Saturday in the Saudi city of Jeddah. As the local newspaper “Sudan Tribune” reported, the army delegation is led by Major General Abu Bakr Faqiri and consists of two senior officers and a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The RSF delegation includes Omar Hamdan, a retired army officer, Fares al-Nour, RSF leader Daglo’s personal advisor, and Daglo’s brother Algoney Hamdan. However, according to media reports, talks will again focus on a ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors, but not on a sustainable peace solution.

The United Nations now estimates that more than 700,000 people have been displaced by the conflict. The UN’s World Food Program warned on Wednesday that more than 19 million, or two-fifths of Sudan’s population, could face famine in the coming months. UN emergency coordinator Martin Griffiths spoke of a “race against time to reach people in need with life-saving aid”. (aeg/sda/dpa)