The Sudanese army announced its commitment to the political process that leads to the establishment of a civilian authority. While the two parties to the conflict (the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces) are still exchanging accusations of violating the armistice, which was extended for three days under international mediation.
The Sudanese army announced on Saturday its commitment to the political process that leads to the establishment of civil authority in the country.
This came in a brief statement by the Sudanese army, which it posted on its Facebook page.
The statement said: "The armed forces will not be a lever for any entity, party or group to seize power."
He added, "It is committed to the political process that leads to the establishment of civil authority."
On Saturday, the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, witnessed air raids and gunfire, while the process of evacuating foreigners from the country continues, with the battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces entering its third week, despite the declared truce and international efforts to stop the fighting.
Since the dawn of mid-April, Sudan has fallen into chaos as a result of the outbreak of a bloody power struggle between the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed "Hemedti".
In this context, UN Secretary-General António Guterres lamented the continuation of the fighting while "the country is collapsing," he said in a statement to the Saudi Al-Arabiya news channel.
The two parties to the conflict exchange accusations of violating the armistice, which was extended for three days under international mediation, and ends Sunday at midnight (22:00 GMT).
Residents trying to flee or staying in their homes suffer comprehensive crises, with water and electricity cuts and food shortages.
"We woke up again to the sounds of warplanes and anti-aircraft guns all over the neighborhood," a resident of southern Khartoum told AFP.
Another witness confirmed that battles have been going on since dawn, especially around the headquarters of the public television channel in the suburb of Omdurman, north of Khartoum.
And the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate announced that 70% of the health facilities in the areas close to the fighting sites are out of service and many of them are subject to bombing.
Looting, destruction and fires
The World Food Program expects millions more people to face hunger in one of the world's poorest countries, where before the war, nearly a third of the 45 million Sudanese people needed food assistance.
In West Darfur, at least 96 people have been killed since Monday in El Geneina, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which described the situation as "serious".
Looting, destruction and arson are increasing, including inside camps for the displaced, according to MSF, which was forced to "stop almost all of its work in West Darfur" because of the violence, said Sylvain Peron, deputy director of the organization in Sudan.
In a statement, Peron warned that his organization is "very concerned about the impact of violence on those who have already suffered waves of violence."
The Darfur region witnessed a bloody war that began in 2003 between the Bashir regime and rebels belonging to ethnic minorities, killing 300,000 people and displacing two and a half million others, according to the United Nations.
The high number of casualties in the clashes
For its part, the Sudanese Ministry of Health said, in a statement on Saturday, that the number of victims of clashes in the country has risen to 528 dead and 4,599 injured since the beginning of the fighting in mid-April.
The ministry said in a statement: "The total deaths amounted to 528, and injuries amounted to 4,599, which were recorded in all hospitals in the states of the country (18 states) from 15 to 27 April."
She pointed out that the number of states affected by the clashes reached 12 states.
On the ground, the Rapid Support Forces said in a statement, on Saturday, that they had "shot down a (MiG) warplane belonging to the Sudanese army."
The statement stated, "Today (Saturday), the Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman managed to shoot down a MiG warplane belonging to the army," without further details.
There was no immediate comment from the army on this until 14:45 GMT.
Sudan: hospitals under pressure
Tense atmosphere at Al-Now hospital in omdurman near Khartoum. The still operational health center has recorded an influx of patients in a country in chaos since April 15. Even though it no longer operates at full capacity for lack of personnel. Medicines are also lacking.
"The medical teams are very small, there are also difficulties with the hospital facilities. Normally there are many teams, now the shifts are longer, because only one or two doctors cover one or two departments, sometimes three. Volunteers help as much as possible because Al-Now Hospital is the only hospital that is still functioning,” says Dr. Alaa Mohammed, a practitioner at Al-Now Hospital.
Faced with a lack of personnel, volunteers play their part.
"All the teams are in tension, we only make a contribution, the men are divided into committees so as to help the staff and provide transport. We are suffering from a lack of fuel for transport and in the service of dialysis." says Nmeiri Mustafa, a volunteer.
According to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, at least 512 people, civilians and combatants have been killed since the start of hostilities while more than 4,000 have been injured.
Serious repercussions What is the impact of the Sudan crisis on the countries of the world?
Two Turkish experts talked about the potential repercussions of the crisis in Sudan on neighboring countries, and the positions of international and regional actors on the crisis.
The two Turkish experts believe, in two separate interviews with Anadolu Agency, that the international and regional parties will determine their position on Sudan in line with their interests, and according to what will happen in the African country.
Serious global repercussions
A faculty member at the Department of International Relations at the Turkish University of Mersin, Tunj Demirtaş, stated that the developments in Sudan will have serious regional and global repercussions.
Demirtas said that these developments will inevitably affect neighboring countries such as Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, Eritrea and Ethiopia, which have land borders with Sudan.
He explained that the Sudanese crisis is likely to cause waves of refugees towards Egypt, and this may have negative repercussions on its economy.
Demirtas indicated that Libya will have a share of any potential waves of refugees from Sudan, and that waves of refugees may pose a threat to the stability of Chad as well.
He warned that any wave of irregular migration from Sudan will have regional repercussions and affect the security of Europe.
He pointed out that Egypt is concerned about the crisis in Sudan, but it adopts a cautious stance, given that its priority is the Nile River file and the Renaissance Dam crisis with Ethiopia.
Demirtas said that Ethiopia is also worried about developments in Sudan, but it is in a better position than Egypt.
On April 28, the United Nations revealed that at least 40,000 refugees had fled Khartoum since the middle of the same month.
He expected the United States, Russia and China to define their positions on the Sudanese crisis, after completing the process of evacuating their nationals, according to what will happen there.
Their positions have not been determined yet
In turn, the expert on North African affairs at the Turkish Center for Middle East Studies, Kan Dogyoglu, said that the active international parties have not yet determined their positions on the situation in Sudan.
Duce Oglu, indicated that the priority of those parties is to ensure the safety of their nationals and diplomatic missions and their safe evacuation.
He believes that "the international parties will determine their positions on the possibility of achieving peace in Sudan or not."
He continued, "In the event that the Sudanese parties adhere to the armistice, there is a possibility - albeit slim - that the leaders of the African Union and officials from the United States, the European Union, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will go to Khartoum to urge the parties to sit at the negotiating table."
He pointed out that the United States will determine its position on the situation in Sudan in the context of Israeli-Sudanese relations.
Regarding China's position, Duceoglu said that Beijing's priority is to protect its economic interests as Sudan's largest trading partner.
He added that China did not become involved in the crisis, and was making unremitting efforts to persuade the parties to sit down at the negotiating table.
Regarding the Russian position, Duce Oglu indicated that Moscow is currently closely following the crisis in Sudan.
He added that there are allegations related to the movement of the commander of the Rapid Support Forces jointly with the Russian Wagner Group (deployed in the Central African Republic).
He pointed out that Russia's efforts to obtain a military port in Sudan overlooking the Red Sea are known to all, "and therefore there is a possibility of Russian intervention in Sudan, albeit indirectly."
Duce Oglu stressed that the success of the Sudanese army in removing the Rapid Support Forces from Khartoum will not end the crisis in the country, and the conflict may expand to include the Darfur region as well.
Since April 15, states in Sudan, headed by the capital, Khartoum, have been witnessing massive clashes between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), which killed hundreds of people, mostly civilians.
Chad: funding expected for Sudanese refugees
The World Food Program at the bedside of Sudanese who have taken refuge in Chad because of the fighting between the forces of Generals al-Burhane and Daglo since April 15.
About 20,000 people arrived in Adré . Refugees who share the story of the atrocities experienced in a country ruled by two rival factions.
“The war drove us out of our house. We were with our children when the armed people arrived and we fled into the bush. How is this possible?” asks Beské Abdoulaye, a Sudanese refugee.
But while waiting for the answer to this question, the emergency remains the care of these refugees. Aid workers and Chadian authorities need urgent funding.
"We are loading our trucks for the 10,000, 20,000, according to UNHCR and government figures, who may have already crossed the border from Sudan into Chad. This is extremely important. Before this crisis, we had already helped 400,000 Sudanese refugees to cross this border. It is extremely urgent because in six to eight weeks, we will no longer be able to reach these places because of the rains...'' warns Pierre Honnorat, national director WFP for Chad.
This Saturday the fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitaries enters its third week, in violation of a new truce of 72 hours.
Burkina Faso: in Karma, an NGO counts 136 dead
The Karma Massacre in northern Burkina Faso on April 20 claimed the lives of 136 people. Report of the Collective against impunity and the stigmatization of communities published Friday in a press release. Far from the 60 official deaths announced by the prosecutor of Ouahigouya, capital of the North region.
Other neighboring villages were also targeted on April 20 by these men in military uniform.
"In other villages like Lemnogo, Kerga, Ramdolah, there are at least a dozen dead. So today we are around 150 dead or identified killed in this area, knowing that there are villages that we have not yet been able to..., for which we have not been able to have the information at the moment, but we are still working on it.'', explains Dr. Daouda Diallo, Secretary General of the Collective Against Impunity and the stigmatization of communities.
These mass killings came after a jihadist attack on April 15, during which six soldiers and at least 34 army auxiliaries were killed in the region.
"What we expect from the government is clear. There have been at least a dozen investigations opened under the different regimes that have followed one another, and nothing has been done through these investigations. There has been no of exemplary punishment in the course of these investigations. The government should make a clear statement on these various investigations and, in the case of the Karma massacre, there should be an impartial and full investigation into this horrific and indescribable situation. said Daouda Diallo.
Thursday, the government "firmly" condemned "these despicable and barbaric acts" and affirmed "to follow very closely the evolution of the investigation", opened by the prosecutor of Ouahigouya.
Burkina Faso, the scene of two military coups in 2022, has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of jihadist violence that appeared in Mali and Niger a few years earlier and which has spread beyond their borders.
The violence has left more than 10,000 dead, civilians and soldiers, for seven years, according to NGOs, and some two million internally displaced people.
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