Sudan capital calm again after fierce fighting on Wednesday

On Thursday morning, the third day of the week-long armistice that came into effect on Monday evening, most neighbourhoods of greater Khartoum witnessed a relative calm.

People living in Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North (Khartoum Bahri) reported that they did not hear the sounds of explosions they have grown accustomed to, nor did they see warplanes flying over the three cities.

The day before however, several areas in Khartoum witnessed fierce fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while the two parties exchanged accusations of violating the truce on social media.

The SAF accused RSF paramilitaries of raiding the coin mint in Khartoum and bombing the base of Wadi Sayedna and the Signal Corps. It also accused the RSF of launching attacks on El Geneina and Zalingei in West and Central Darfur.

According to the RSF, it was the army that violated the armistice and bombing its forces with heavy artillery and airstrikes. They claimed to have shot down a warplane above Omdurman, while the SAF said that the aeroplane crashed as a result of technical malfunctioning.

The Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker reported two weeks ago that the Sudanese, in addition to physical dangers posed by bullets and shells, are being bombarded with propaganda by the warring parties, making it increasingly challenging to get an idea of the situation on the ground. 

War monitor TRUECOPE reported in the first hours of this morning that it received reports and videos of the large scale RSF offensive towards the SAF Armoured Corps on Wednesday. “They made large gains initially but were repelled, as reported by someone who field surveyed the area after the fighting ended, and the SAF retook the Currency Printing House.”

The Sudanese Doctors Union reported on Wednesday that since the war broke out on April 15, 865 deaths were recorded and 3,634 injuries.