New Sudan clashes erupt amid truce

UN sending envoy as humanitarian crisis deteriorates in African nation

KHARTOUM — Fierce fighting broke out again on Monday after a top United Nations humanitarian official was heading to the Sudan region due to the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis" in the conflict-racked country.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since a long-simmering power struggle between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into a conflict on April 15.

Millions of Sudanese around the capital have since hidden in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity as warplanes on bombing raids have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.

"Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at it," said one resident, while another said he was also hearing "loud gunfire" in the area.

Burhan and Dagalo have agreed multiple, poorly observed cease-fires, and extended the latest formal truce on Sunday by 72 hours, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.

Despite the clashes, the two sides have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, according to Volker Perthes on Monday, UN's top official in Sudan.

The talks would initially focus on establishing a "stable and reliable "cease-fire monitored by "national and international" observers, Perthes said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' announcement on Sunday came shortly after Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated.

"The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres, said in a statement.

Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths said on Sunday he was heading to the region to help "bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have turned upside down overnight".

"The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point," he said. "Goods essential for people's survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centers, especially Khartoum."

"The cost of transportation out of worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to locate to safer areas."

The civil aviation authority announced Sudan's airspace would remain closed until May 13, with the exception of aid and evacuation flights.

Seeking refuge

Some 50,000 people have fled the raging conflict, seeking refuge in neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic, said the UN refugee agency.

With projectiles crashing into residential buildings, supplies running short and daily life becoming increasingly untenable for civilians, foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate their nationals by air, road and sea.

"We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities," Dujarric said.

A first Red Cross plane brought eight tons of humanitarian aid from Jordan to Port Sudan, which is so far untouched by the fighting. The aid included surgical material and medical kits to stabilize 1,500 patients.

On Saturday, the health ministry said the violence has wounded around 4,600 people and killed at least 528.

The UN World Food Programme has warned the unrest could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people already needed aid to stave off famine.

Only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum, according to the World Health Organization, with many shelled.

"The situation cannot be sustained" as medical supplies run short, warned Majzoub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damar, north of Khartoum.

An envoy of Burhan met on Sunday in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who urged the restoration of calm in Sudan, his ministry said.

Egypt has called an Arab League meeting of its permanent delegates on Monday to discuss the situation.

Agencies Via Xinhua