Latest Sudan updates: More than 180 people killed, UN envoy says
News from April 17: Another 1,800 have been injured as two sides do not give ‘impression that they want mediation for a peace’, UN says.
The live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. Here are the updates for April 17:
The live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. Here are the updates for April 17:
- Sudan’s army chief branded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a rebellious group and ordered it be dissolved as the paramilitary group continued battling the army in the capital and across the country for a third day.
- Explosions rocked Khartoum on Monday, with the death toll rising to more than 180 people and residents hunkering down in their homes, reporting electricity outages and looting incidents.
- The United Nations envoy on Sudan, Volker Perthes, said the two sides were “not giving the impression that they want mediation for a peace between them” immediately.
- The clashes are part of a power struggle between army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the RSF group, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
- The two generals are former allies who jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudan’s transition to democratic rule and elections.
EU’s top diplomat calls for ceasefire
The EU is calling on the warring parties in Sudan to halt the violence, according to the bloc’s top envoy.
Civilians “urgently need a ceasefire in order to be safe and allow space for mediation,” Josep Borrell said in a tweet.
“The EU is working to persuade each side to consider humanitarian pause and to encourage dialogue,” he said. “Protection of civilians is an obligation under international humanitarian law.”
EU envoy to Sudan assaulted, says EU foreign policy chief
The European Union’s ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his “own residency”, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell has said in a tweet.
“This constitutes a gross violation of the Vienna Convention. Security of diplomatic premises and staff is a primary responsibility of Sudanese authorities and an obligation under international law,” his tweet read.
Civilians, humanitarian workers ‘must never be targeted’: Islamic Relief
Islamic Relief is calling for an immediate ceasefire and for both sides to ensure civilians and humanitarian workers are protected as they “must never be targeted”.
In a press release, the charity said that “at least four humanitarian aid workers are among those killed and many aid agency offices have been looted, forcing the suspension of vital humanitarian work. The violence has spread across the country, with Islamic Relief teams reporting that the situation in the western region of Darfur is particularly alarming.
“Shops, markets and banks are all closed, so people can’t access money or essential supplies. In some areas food prices have tripled since Saturday as supplies have become increasingly scarce. Hospitals are overwhelmed and reportedly running out of oxygen, fuel and blood bags to treat the wounded, and patients have called for safe passage to leave as the fighting spreads nearby.
“Islamic Relief is calling on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and ensure humanitarian agencies have safe access to affected people.”
No US evacuation plan at this time: White House
There are no plans for a United States government evacuation from Sudan at this time but Americans should treat the volatile situation in the African country with utmost seriousness, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby has said.
Diplomacy ‘not bearing much fruit’ for ceasefire: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s James Bays reporting from the UN said various international players are being relied on to broker a ceasefire.
“[The UN envoy on Sudan] believes pressure from others is important. The African Union, regional grouping IGAD, Arab League, all of these bodies are talking with various payers and in particular with the two generals, trying to get a ceasefire in place,” Bays said.
“There’s talk of mediation missions… making their way as delegations to try to speak to the generals to try to get that ceasefire.
“The problem with that – airspace is closed, borders are closed and it’s simply too dangerous for them to travel at this stage. Diplomatic efforts are ongoing but they’re not bearing much fruit this time and clearly, that’s deeply concerning for the people of Sudan.”
More than 180 people killed in fighting: UN envoy
More than 180 people have been killed and another 1,800 injured in three days of fighting between the rival factions in Sudan, the UN special representative to the country said.
“It’s a very fluid situation so it’s very difficult to say where the balance is shifting to,” Volker Perthes added of the violence between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals.
UN envoy: Two sides don’t seem to want immediate peace mediation
The UN envoy on Sudan has said the army and paramilitary force were “not giving the impression that they want mediation for a peace between them” immediately.
“The two sides who are fighting are not giving the impression that they want mediation for a peace between them right away,” Volker Perthes said while speaking to reporters in New York via video.
Efforts continue for humanitarian pauses: UN envoy
The UN envoy on Sudan has said it will continue efforts for further humanitarian pauses in the fighting. If that succeeds, the UN will aim for a “more structured ceasefire”.
He added that leaders of warring parties have been reacting “positively” to his phone calls.
The envoy said he cannot assess who has the upper hand in the fighting as the situation is fluid.
White House calls for immediate Sudan ceasefire
The White House has called for an immediate ceasefire to fighting and said US officials were in touch with the military leaders.
“We deplore the escalating violence out of Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan. We call for an immediate ceasefire without conditions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” said a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
No sense of security in Khartoum: Resident
A Khartoum resident has said there are worries about the security of businesses in the Sudanese capital.
“We’re scared our store will be looted because there’s no sense of security,” Abdalsalam Yassin, 33, told the Reuters news agency.
The shopkeeper added that he had bought extra stock ahead of the coming Eid al-Fitr Holiday.
Russian mercenaries in Sudan: What’s Wagner Group’s role?
After battles broke out in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, questions have arisen over the involvement of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation that has been active in the country for years.
Here is what you need to know about the group and its involvement in the African country.
Army chief accuses RSF of leading ‘attempted coup’
Al-Burhan has accused the RSF of leading “an attempted coup and rebellion against the state”.
The army chief told CNN that Dagalo, the RSF commander, had “mutinied” against the Sudanese state and if captured would be tried in a court of law.
Earlier, the Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement that al-Burhan had declared the RSF a rebel entity that was fighting the state and ordered its dissolution.
Al-Burhan and Dagalo – two former allies who jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup that halted Sudan’s transition to democratic rule – have traded blame for starting Saturday’s fighting.
Low expectations as UN Security Council set to meet
The UN Security Council is set to meet in the next hour behind closed doors to discuss the Sudan situation.
Members of the 15-member body have already issued a statement calling for an immediate end of the hostilities and a return to dialogue.
Reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays said it “is really not clear” what else the Security Council could do.
“Even getting that statement out, I’m told, took a lot of negotiation and there was arguing over some of the words,” Bays said.
The council will hear about the situation on the ground from UN Special Representative Volker Perthes, who is in Khartoum. Perthes is then expected to brief reporters in New York by video link.
Armed groups loot medical supplies from Save the Children: Organisation
Looters have stolen medical supplies for children as well as a refrigerator, laptops and cars in a raid on Save the Children’s offices in Darfur, the child rights group has said in a press statement.
It added that the association has temporarily suspended most of its operations across Sudan due to the violence, “putting food, clean water, and other lifesaving aid out of reach for thousands”.
The aid group said it is particularly struggling to deliver its medical services in health facilities across North Darfur due to access and looting concerns but is operating as much as possible where it is safe to do so.
France expresses ‘grave concern’, urges de-escalation
France has reiterated “its grave concern” regarding the fighting in Sudan and expressed its support for regional and international efforts to resolve the crisis.
The French foreign ministry called on the warring sides “to stop fighting; agree to a truce in order to ensure the safety of civilians and aid workers; allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access; and work on de-escalating the conflict in order to reach a lasting ceasefire”.
The ministry said in a statement that “only by returning to an inclusive political process that leads to the appointment of a civilian transition government and general elections that a lasting solution to this crisis can be found”.
People running out of drinking water: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reporting from Khartoum has said that as “people were not expecting this fighting to begin with”, they did not store extra food and water at home.
“Because of water and electricity facilities being hit due to the fighting, there are power outages and water cuts as well,” Morgan said.
“Many people say that they haven’t had electricity or running water for three days and they’re running out of drinking water. For people trapped in public institutions, hospitals and schools, there is no food because again, they were not expecting this fighting to happen.
“Fighting has happened in many parts of the country over the past 60 years, but it’s never reached the capital Khartoum. Many people don’t know when the air strikes will hit, because there are no sirens to warn of incoming air strikes. There are no safety shelters around the capital for people to run to, once the air strikes hit or if heavy artillery hits.”
Under lockdown for past three days: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Morgan has said she and her colleagues have not been able to go outside for the past three days as “it’s not clear which forces are in control of which locations exactly.
“Both sides are very hard to negotiate. We’re talking about soldiers here, people on the ground – not senior commanders. Even if we do manage to talk to their leadership to understand what’s going on from their perspective, those on the ground don’t necessarily agree with us moving around, so we have been under lockdown for the past three days,” Morgan said.
“It’s not only here where we are that we are facing lockdown, other parts of the capital as well – residents say that they can’t leave their homes because of the insecurity that they’re facing.
“People have reported that the RSF have been entering homes, looting properties and assaulting women and residents of homes.”
Mediation through carrots and sticks: Analyst
Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group told Al Jazeera that there are different forms of mediation, but “usually it ends up being a case of carrots and sticks”.
“Western countries tend to lean heavily on sanctions, threats – what are called sticks – to try to twist arms into ending conflict,” Boswell said.
“In some cases like Sudan, that’s difficult because it’s not clear that these actors would respond much at all to US sanctions, for instance.
“But there are other forms of carrots and sticks, such as for some of these guys implying that if they don’t do what others want, these actors could find someone else to back in the future, and that is a form of leverage either implicit or explicit. But you’re looking for points of leverage.”
UN chief calls on rival leaders to immediately cease hostilities
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the outbreak of fighting in Sudan, appealing to the leaders of both sides to terminate hostilities and engage in dialogue.
Before the UN Security Council discusses the developments in Sudan later in the day, the secretary general called on parties with influence to use it to end the violence and restore order in the country.
Speaking at the opening of the Forum on Financing for Development in New York, Guterres warned “any further escalation” of the conflict “could be devastating for the country and the region”.
Group of RSF fighters surrenders in Khartoum, army says
A group of RSF fighters have handed themselves over to the Sudanese armed forces, the military says in a post on Facebook.
“[There is] another group of [RSF] prisoners in Khartoum from the fighting near the armed forces HQ and the airport,” it said.
More of Khartoum combat now taking place on the ground: AJ correspondent
Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan says there seems to be a reduced amount of air raids being carried out near the presidential palace and army headquarters after the morning’s intense bombardment.
“It looks like it’s more of a ground battle at the moment around the vicinity of the general command of the army,” Morgan said, adding that there were reports of clashes taking place in both the northern and southern parts of the capital. Heavy fighting was also reported around the airport.
“There’s been intense fighting with both sides trying to gain control of major facilities,” Morgan said.
“It’s still not clear who has the upper hand, who controls most of the facilities here, but it’s clear that the fighting – even if it has reduced in the past hour – is still ongoing between the army and the RSF.”
Competing claims over control of national TV network’s HQ
There are competing claims from both the Sudanese army and the RSF over who controls the government-run Sudan Broadcasting Corporation’s headquarters in Omdurman.
The army said it has reclaimed the compound from the RSF while the paramilitary group released a video on its Twitter page that was filmed in front of what it said is one of the compound’s gates, saying it was in control of the TV network’s headquarters.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله تعالى وبركاته
الشعب السوداني العظيم
اليوم الإثنين 17 أبريل 2023
نبشركم أن قوات الدعم السريع تبسط كامل سيطرتها على مقر هيئة الإذاعة والتلفزيون بأم درمان، وننفي وجود أي اشتباكات مع القوات الانقلابية حول محيط الإذاعة والتلفزيون pic.twitter.com/7zhjfTGrlD— Rapid Support Forces – قوات الدعم السريع (@RSFSudan) April 17, 2023
Airspace shut down
Access for healthcare workers ‘priority’, Red Cross says
Alyona Synenko of the International Committee of the Red Cross says ongoing fighting across Sudan is overwhelming hospitals and the situation for civilians is getting “worse and worse”.
“The priority right now is to get access for healthcare workers, such as first responders, to be able to provide urgent care for those who are wounded,” Synenko told Al Jazeera from Nairobi.
Synenko added that fighting was taking place close to heavily populated civilian neighbourhoods and infrastructure.
“So now the people are hiding in their homes and if this essential infrastructure gets damaged, the consequences for this urban population are going to be very high.”
‘Talks still ongoing’ about AU Commission chairman visiting Khartoum
Mohamed El Hassan, director of the office of the chairman of the African Union Commission, has spoken to Al Jazeera about the bloc’s efforts for a solution to the crisis.
“The Peace and Security Council of the African Union held an emergency meeting yesterday in Addis Ababa and decided to ask the president of the commission to travel as soon as possible to Khartoum to exert all efforts by the parties in order for the fighting to stop quickly without any conditions and to return to the negotiating table to protect the Sudanese people,” El Hassan said from the Ethiopian capital.
“However, when the president of the commission prepared to go to Khartoum, it became clear that Khartoum airport was not suitable for landing planes because of the damage it had suffered and because it was in an unsafe area,” El Hassan said.
He said “talks are still ongoing” about the possibility of Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat visiting Khartoum.
“We made contacts with the parties to the conflict, and it is still ongoing, but we did not discuss the evacuation of civilians or the provision of medical services.”