Clashes between rival military factions broke out in Sudan's capital Khartoum, residents said, threatening to shatter a fragile ceasefire designed to allow for the delivery of aid and create conditions for a more lasting truce. The ceasefire deal, which is being monitored by Saudi Arabia and the United States as well as the warring parties, was reached after five weeks of warfare in Khartoum and outbursts of violence in other parts of Sudan, including the western region of Darfur.

The fighting pits Sudan's army against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and has worsened a humanitarian crisis, forced over 1.3 million people to flee their homes and threatened to destabilise the wider region. The ceasefire had brought a relative lull in fighting in Khartoum on Tuesday, although little sign of a rapid increase in humanitarian relief. Witnesses reported clashes in several areas of the capital on Wednesday afternoon. West of central Khartoum columns of black smoke could be seen rising into the air, and there was shelling near an army camp in southern Khartoum, they said.

In Bahri, one of the three cities around the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile rivers that make up Sudan's greater capital, the sound of clashes and artillery fire could be heard. Earlier, residents reported artillery fire near the Wadi Sayidna military base on the outskirts of Omdurman, the third city. The ceasefire was agreed to on Saturday following talks in Jeddah mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United States. Previous ceasefire announcements have failed to stop the fighting. In statements late on Wednesday, the army and RSF accused each other of violating the agreement.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP