At least 185 people have been killed and another 1,800 injured in three days of fighting between rival factions in Sudan, according to the United Nations Special Representative for Sudan.
“It’s a very volatile situation, so it’s very hard to say where the balance will shift,” Volker Perthes said Monday of the violence between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals.
Speaking to reporters in New York via video, he also said the warring factions “do not give the impression that they want immediate mediation for peace between them.”
The sudden outbreak of violence over the weekend between the country’s two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, trapped millions in their homes or wherever they could find shelter, while supplies in many areas were running low.
In the power struggle, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, is pitted against General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group. The former allies jointly orchestrated a military coup in October 2021.
The violence has raised the specter of civil war, just as Sudanese tried to revive the push for democratic civilian rule after decades of military rule.
Calls for a ceasefire
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called on Sudan’s warring factions to “immediately cease hostilities”. He warned that further escalation could be “devastating for the country and the region”.
The White House also called for an immediate ceasefire on fighting in Sudan on Monday, adding: “We regret the escalating violence from Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan. We call for an immediate ceasefire without conditions.”
Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from the UN, said several international players are being relied on to broker a ceasefire.
“[The UN envoy to Sudan] appreciates pressure from others. The African Union, the regional group IGAD, the Arab League, all these bodies are in talks with different players and in particular with the two generals to bring about a ceasefire,” said Bays.
“There’s talk of mediation missions… making their way as delegations to try and talk to the generals to try and get that ceasefire.
“The problem with that: the airspace is closed, the borders are closed and it’s just too dangerous for them to travel at this stage. Diplomatic efforts are underway, but they are not bearing much fruit this time and that is clearly very worrying for the people of Sudan.”
Meanwhile, the Sudanese military declared the RSF a rebel group and ordered its disbandment on Monday.
As the fighting showed no signs of abating, Dagalo took to Twitter to call on the international community to intervene against al-Burhan, labeling him a “radical Islamist who bombs civilians from the air.”
In a rare statement since fighting erupted, al-Burhan told Al Jazeera on Saturday that he was “surprised by the Rapid Support Forces attack on his home” and that what happened “should prevent the formation of troops outside the army” .
Sudan’s doctors’ union warned that the fighting had “severely damaged” several hospitals in Khartoum and other cities, some of which were completely “out of service”.
The World Health Organization had already warned that several of Khartoum’s nine hospitals taking care of injured civilians “have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other vital supplies”.
Lockdown
The violence has terrified people forced to take shelter in their homes, fearing a protracted conflict that could plunge Sudan into deeper chaos, destroying hopes of a return to civilian rule, which have been shattered by the 2021 coup that has already been shattered. Burhan and Dagalo orchestrated, hit bottom.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, has said she and her colleagues have been unable to go outside for the past three days because “it is not clear exactly which forces are controlling which locations.
“Both sides are very difficult to negotiate. We are talking about soldiers here, people on the ground – not senior commanders. Even if we manage to talk to their leaders to understand what is happening from their perspective, the people on the ground don’t necessarily agree with us moving, so we’ve been stuck for three days,” Morgan said.
“Not only here, where we are, are we facing lockdown, also in other parts of the capital – residents say they cannot leave their homes because of the insecurity they face.”
The RSF was founded in 2013 under the former president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir.
It grew out of the so-called Janjaweed militia his government had unleashed a decade earlier against non-Arab ethnic minorities in Darfur, alleging war crimes.
The fighting erupted after bitter disagreements between al-Burhan and Dagalo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army – a key condition for a final agreement to end a crisis since the 2021 coup.
The two sides accuse each other of starting the fighting, and both claim control of key locations, including the airport and the presidential palace, none of which could be independently verified.