Fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued on Wednesday in several areas of the capital Khartoum and other Sudanese cities.
Loud explosions were heard in the southeastern neighborhoods of the capital, while a cautious calm prevailed around the army command in central Khartoum and the army’s al-Shajara military area.
The “City Resistance” Committees in Wad Madani, Gezira state, central Sudan, said the RSF set up security checkpoints in various neighborhoods of the city and intimidated and robbed citizens.
The Forces of Freedom and Change in Sudan rejected the continued confrontations between the army and the RSF. In a statement, they reiterated their rejection of the expansion of combat and operations between the two parties. They also held the military and the RSF responsible for the safety of civilian life and property under their control.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Sudan, due to the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF around Wad Madani, Gezira state.
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Wad Madani had been a center of humanitarian operations since the beginning of the conflict, and had not been directly affected by the conflict until the latest fighting.
He noted that the escalating violence in Sudan was devastating for the country and the region, and renewed the call for the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to stop fighting and commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities.
He called on both sides to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and allow unhindered humanitarian access.
“Humanitarian field missions in and out of Gezira state are still suspended,” Dujarric said, citing a warning from OCHA that the distribution of aid to two million people – around a third of the state’s population – would be at risk if fighting continued.
