This comes as the UN warns of a mass exodus, where more than 800,000 people could flee the ongoing clashes in Sudan.
The UN on Monday warned that more than 800,000 people could flee fighting in Sudan, where gun battles and explosions again shook the capital in violation of the latest truce agreed between warring generals.
The United Nations refugee agency said Monday it was bracing for “the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighboring countries.”
“We hope it doesn’t come to that, but if violence doesn’t stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in a tweet.
This comes as gun battles and explosions rocked again Sudan’s capital on Monday despite the latest truce formally agreed between the warring parties as the United Nations warned the humanitarian crisis had brought the country near its “breaking point”.
The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have sparked a mass exodus of tens of thousands of Sudanese to neighboring countries including Egypt, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
More than 500 people have been reported killed since fighting erupted on April 15 between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Millions of Sudanese around the capital and beyond have sheltered in their homes with dwindling food and water and frequent power cuts.
“Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at them,” said one resident, while another witness told AFP that he was also hearing “loud gunfire”.
Al-Burhan and Dagalo have agreed to multiple, poorly observed ceasefires and extended the latest by 72 hours late on Sunday, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.
While foreign nations have evacuated thousands of their citizens by air, road, and sea, some 50,000 Sudanese have fled overland to neighbors, confirmed the UN.
Source: Almayadeen
