Sudan updates: Fighting persists despite fresh cease-fire

Fighting was reported in the Sudanese capital after the army announced agreeing to a 72-hour cease-fire agreement, the third to be announced in the week of fighting which has claimed over 400 lives.

Heavy fighting persisted late on Friday, with air strikes heard occasionally, the Reuters news agency cited witnesses as saying, adding that the source of the firing was unclear. 

The Associated Press news agency also cited residents of the capital as saying they could hear gunfire in parts of Khartoum.

The Sudanese army announced agreeing to a three-day cease-fire as of Friday "to allow citizens to celebrate Eid al-Fitr" as well as to clear the way for humanitarian services.

"The armed forces hopes that the rebels adhere to all the requirements of the cease-fire and halt any military movements that could hinder it," it said in a statement.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had earlier announced they agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian truce from 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Friday to coincide with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

According to the RSF, the truce was meant to create humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to evacuate and reunite with their loved ones.

Several EU countries and the US have mulled over plans to evacuate their citizens for days, while the Khartoum International Airport stayed out of operation.

On Friday, US Principal Deputy State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel said US citizens should not expect government -coordinated evacuations. He added that citizens should make their own arrangements to stay safe.

Here's a roundup of other noteworthy developments in Sudan on Friday, April 21:

Canada suspends operations in Sudan

Canada on Sunday announced the suspension of consular services in Sudan due to an inability to protect staff in Khartoum amid a spiraling security crisis.

"After consulting with Canada's Ambassador to Sudan, the decision has been made to temporarily suspend our operations in Sudan," read a statement from Global Affairs Canada, the country's foreign office.

Diplomats will now work remotely at safe locations outside the country. As of Saturday, more than 1,500 Canadian citizens were registered as being in Sudan.

German Bundeswehr plane carrying 101 evacuees lands in Jordan

Germany's Bundeswehr said an Airbus A400 carrying 101 people evacuated from Sudan landed safely in Jordan on Sunday. It was the first of a total of three Bundeswehr A400s that flew to Khartoum to extract citizens from a worsening conflict. 

Several hundred German citizens have registered to be evacuated. Other European citizens in need of protection and otherwise unable to flee are to be evacuated as well.

Evacuees' onward journeys to Germany and elsewhere will be organized in Jordan.

Sudan's RSF says it's ready to partially open all airports

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expressed its readiness to partially open all of Sudan's airports to air traffic to enable other countries to evacuate their nationals, RSF said in a statement.

 "The Rapid Support Forces affirm their full readiness to cooperate, coordinate and provide all facilities that enable expatriates and missions to leave the country safely," the statement said.

It is unclear to what extent the RSF controls Sudan's airports.

Meanwhile, the US State Department said that ongoing fighting between military factions in Sudan made it too risky to try to evacuate embassy personnel from Khartoum.

EU studying citizens' evacuation from Sudan

The European Union and its member states are studying the potential for evacuating some 1,500 EU nationals currently trapped in Sudan. 

A senior EU official was cited by the French AFP news agency as saying the bloc was working "on different possibilities for taking people out" of Khartoum, which is categorized as a "high-risk situation."

"For the time being, the assessment of those on the ground, including the EU embassy, is that the security conditions are not in place for going ahead with an operation of this kind."

Seven EU members were considering road evacuation, the official said, given the closure of the airport. They include France, Germany and Italy. He added that such an operation would require a three-day cease-fire.

"At that moment, it's our expectation we will be fully prepared to go ahead with the evacuation of our nationals," the official said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the country was readying for an evacuation once a cease-fire "holds for at least some time." 

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said his country's air force planes were also ready, but that it's "not possible to predict" when they could go ahead with an evacuation.

US preparing for potential evacuation, Austin says

The US military is preparing as many options as possible for a potential evacuation for the US embassy staff stuck in Sudan amid the fighting, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday.

Addressing reporters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Lloyd said that there have yet to be any decisions on movement.

"We've deployed some forces into theater to ensure that we provide as many options as possible if we are called on to do something. And we haven't been called on to do anything yet," he said.

Earlier on Friday, the US State Department announced the death of a US citizen amid the fighting, without providing any details.

The Pentagon had announced deployments to neighboring countries on Thursday, to be in a better position once an evacuation is possible. Media reports suggested troops began arriving in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

Khartoum's International Airport has been effectively shuttered since the clashes began on Saturday, being the scene of much of the fighting. Many nations have since been studying the options to evacuate their citizens.

UN staff member killed in crossfire

A humanitarian worker was killed earlier on Friday in Sudan, with his vehicle hit by crossfire in a town southwest of the capital Khartoum, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.

"I am deeply saddened by the death of our humanitarian colleague, and join his wife and newborn child, and our team in Sudan in mourning," IOM Director-General Antonio Vitorino said. 

The IOM said its 49-year-old worker was traveling with his family near El Obeid, a town southwest of the capital Khartoum, when he was shot. 

Four UN employees have died in Sudan since fighting broke out six days ago.

Several countries are either organizing or preparing for potentially airlifting nationals out of Sudan as the conflict continues. 

UN cease-fire call

The power struggle between Sudan's army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemeti, has already claimed 413 lives. The World Health Organization said more than 3,500 people had been wounded.

Early Friday, bombing and artillery shelling rang through the streets of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, despite behind-the-scenes truce negotiations.

"The army are moving around some residential areas [of the capital Khartoum] ...trying to look for any RSF fighters that may be in those areas, to try to either arrest them or neutralize them," journalist and political analyst Patrick Oyet told DW.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a cease-fire on Thursday to enable the safe passage of civilians. 

A coalition of civil groups had announced that they had put forward a three-day truce proposal to the rival sides and that they had responded favorably. "We welcome the positive position of the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)," the group said.

'No option but decisive military action'

However, as battles raged, Burhan dismissed any prospects for negotiations with Daglo, telling broadcaster Al Jazeera that he saw no option but "decisive" military action without "any room for talks over politics."

Daglo said the RSF's agreement to stop fighting for the Eid holiday did not mean he was willing to talk with Burhan. "We are talking about a humanitarian truce, we are talking about safe passages ... we are not talking about sitting down with a criminal," he said, referring to Burhan.

In his first speech since the outbreak of fighting a week ago, Burhan said in a video message on Friday that the military remained committed to a transition to civilian rule, but he made no mention of a truce.

"We are confident that we will overcome this ordeal with our training, wisdom and strength, preserving the security and unity of the state, allowing us to be entrusted with the safe transition to civilian rule," he said.

Baerbock appeals for peace

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin's first priority at the moment is for both sides to agree on a cease-fire for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr so foreign nationals can be evacuated.

"Let the [Sudanese] population get urgently needed aid," Baerbock told a news conference in Berlin with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

The two parties should resolve the conflict between themselves through negotiations instead of "reducing Sudan to rubble," she said.

The latest pleas came after another cease-fire collapsed on Wednesday. Several attempts at a truce have failed since hostilities broke out on Saturday. 

Desperate situation

Thousands of civilians have fled the fighting, with many refugees taking shelter in villages along the border in Chad. 

The UN and other aid agencies have appealed to let people trapped in their homes seek medical attention, food and water.

"Families are running out of supplies and the water supply has collapsed, but every walk out the door is life-threatening. In addition, markets have been burned down and supply routes from the capital Khartoum are blocked," said German aid agency Welthungerhilfe's secretary general Mathias Mogge.

Even before the conflict, around a quarter of Sudan's population was facing acute hunger.

The situation is worsening for civilians, with reports of dead bodies scattered in the streets.

Medics have warned of a catastrophe, especially in Khartoum, where many hospitals were caught in the crossfire.

UNICEF, the UN's children's agency said 20 health facilities in the capital had stopped functioning and another 12 were at risk of stopping.

Asked why the fighting has restricted life in the city to such a large extent, political analyst Oyet said the centralized layout of Khartoum was to blame:

"This fighting is happening in the middle of the people. [Due to] the way Khartoum is built, the airport, national security headquarters and even the army headquarters are in the middle of the city. So whenever there is fighting ...it is all [taking place] in the middle of the people," he told DW.

Germany plans second airlift attempt

Germany's armed forces will try for a second time to evacuate German citizens from Sudan, a Defense Ministry spokesman told the dpa news agency on Friday.

"The Bundeswehr is preparing options for the repatriation of German citizens and other persons to be protected from Sudan," he said. "In this context, the protection of our citizens in Sudan is the priority," he said. 

The spokesman did not provide details on the size, personnel or supplies needed for the possible evacuation mission. 

The government said a "small three-figure number" of Germans were waiting to flee Sudan.

On Wednesday, the Bundeswehr attempted to evacuate German citizens by plane, but the security situation was deemed too dangerous to proceed.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the situation on the ground in Sudan "remains drastic." 

The spokesperson said many Germans are stranded in their homes with no electricity, making it difficult for authorities to keep in touch with them as their cellphone batteries are running low.

The ministry repeated a demand for a cease-fire to allow people to stay safe and ensure the delivery of fresh supplies.

How did the violence start?

Following the popular uprising that helped topple long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir four years ago, the impoverished country had tried to embark on a path to establishing democratic rule.

Under al-Bashir, Sudan was internationally isolated and on the US terrorism list.

Burhan and Daglo jointly carried out a coup in 2021, purging civilians from a transitional government. They then said that they would shepherd the country until a new government was elected. However, both sides have failed to sign political agreements that would see their institutions lose power and now seem to be battling for control themselves.

The latest eruption of violence came after weeks of rising tensions between the two generals over an international push for a new civilian government.

Each side has accused the other of obstructing the transition.

mm, ss/nm (Reuters, AFP, dpa)