(Khartoum) Artillery fire, street fighting and explosions on Tuesday shook Khartoum, capital of Sudan where army and paramilitaries are vying for power for the eighth consecutive week as the humanitarian situation worsens, according to witnesses.
In the heart of the capital, on the island of Tuti, at the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, Sudanese claim that the paramilitaries “block the only bridge” and “prevent them from using the boats” which connect to the rest of Khartoum.
“It’s a complete siege and if it continues, the food will run out in the shops,” worries Mohammed Youssouf, a resident of the island, in a telephone conversation.
In Khartoum, the army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane confronts the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, in combat “with all types of weapons”, told the AFP of the inhabitants of the south of the city.
The violence of the explosions “shake the walls of the houses”, according to these testimonies. Others reported “heavy artillery fire” from army barracks in the northern suburbs.
The conflict between the two rival generals, which broke out on April 15, left more than 1,800 dead, according to the NGO ACLED, which specializes in collecting information in conflict zones. More than 1.5 million people have left their homes, displaced within Sudan or taken refuge in neighboring countries, according to the UN.
“We are facing a severe humanitarian crisis which will only get worse with the collapse of the economy and the health system,” warned the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). .
According to her, “the approaching rainy season, combined with the impending hunger crisis and the epidemics which now seem inevitable”, such as cholera and malaria, will aggravate the situation.
“Additional funds are needed to help those most in need,” the Federation said in a statement.
Sudan was already before the war one of the poorest countries in the world. One in three residents suffered from hunger, long power cuts were a daily occurrence and the health system was on the verge of collapse.
Today, 25 of the 45 million Sudanese need humanitarian aid to survive, according to the UN.
Three quarters of the hospitals in the combat zones are out of order, according to the doctors’ union, the others have almost no equipment or medicines left.
On May 31, the army withdrew from negotiations aimed at creating safe corridors for civilians and humanitarian aid.
1er June, the United States and Saudi Arabia, mediators between the two camps, announced the suspension of these negotiations before Washington announced sanctions against companies associated with the army and the paramilitaries.