Africa
‘Power struggle continues as Sudan crumbles’
In Sudan, officially, 528 people were killed and 4,600 wounded in the fighting. But the bodies left on the streets are inaccessible and uncountable. UN on the prevailing confusion.
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Looting, destruction and fires are on the rise in West Darfur: in recent days, around a hundred people have been killed in fighting that ravaged its capital, El-Genina.
AFP
Airstrikes and heavy shelling in Khartoum, tens of thousands flee war: Sudan has “collapsed”, UN chief warns, as fighting enters third week The country has been plunged into chaos since the explosion on April 15, when a bloody power struggle erupted between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and his chief, Mohammed Hamtane Daghlo, known as “Hemeti”. Terrible fast support forces.
At least 528 people died in the fighting and 4,599 were injured, according to the Ministry of Health, a number still underestimated because the bodies littering the streets are inaccessible and therefore impossible to identify. Tens of thousands of Sudanese but foreigners settled in Sudan or refugees have fled to Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad or South Sudan, while many foreign capitals continue to expel hundreds of nationals.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented that “the war for power continues as the country crumbles.” Each side accuses them of violating the ceasefire, which was extended until Sunday midnight under international mediation.
Seven out of ten hospitals are out of service
Civilians are fleeing or trying to survive without electricity, water or food. “There are clashes with heavy weapons and machine guns,” says a resident of Khartoum, while another witness reports “explosions and gunfire” elsewhere in the capital. According to the Doctors Association, 70% of hospitals in war zones are out of service.
UN for Sudan Ambassador Volker Perth told Al-Jazeera that there was “no indication” that a fight would break out on April 15, with tensions clear, and that the two rival generals were due to discuss it that day.
“If Sudan reaches the stage of full-scale civil war, it will be a nightmare for the world.”
Abdullah Hamdok, former Prime Minister of Sudan
If the guns haven’t fallen silent since then, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir – a historic mediator in Sudan – on Saturday invited the two generals to “a constructive and concrete face-to-face dialogue”.
He also urged “not to try to reinforce positions”, while many observers believe that no ceasefire has taken place because neither belligerent wants to give the other a chance to advance or secure reinforcements. “God save us if Sudan reaches the right stage of civil war, it will be a nightmare for the world,” former Sudanese prime minister Abdullah Hamdok warned in Nairobi on Saturday.
Evacuation routes are still open
According to the UN, 75,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, particularly in the 2000s in Darfur, a war-torn region. If the ceasefire does not stop the fighting, it allows the evacuation routes to remain open. A convoy organized by the United States helped evacuate American citizens and other countries to Port Sudan. From there, a new boat carrying about 1,900 evacuees arrived in Saudi Arabia, which has so far received nearly 5,000 Saudis and foreigners.
Among them, Merdat Maleksad, one of the first Iranians evacuated on Saturday, describes daily bombings and explosions in Khartoum. “We never thought the situation would turn so tense.”
The UN estimates that millions more could go hungry, while a third of the 45 million Sudanese already suffer from it in one of the world’s poorest countries. Doctors Without Borders reports increasing looting, destruction and fires in West Darfur, including in camps for displaced people. The NGO had to “cease” all its “activities”. In recent days, the UN has put at least 100 dead in fighting that has devastated its capital, El-Jenina. “Society is disintegrating and now we see tribes trying to arm themselves,” Antonio Guterres lamented.
(AFP)
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