Sudanese continue to flee the country as fighting in Khartoum enters fifth week

Sudanese evacuees at Egyptian border
Sudanese evacuees at Egyptian border Copyright STR/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved
By Euronews with agencies
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button
Copy/paste the article video embed link below:Copy to clipboardCopied

Sudanese continue to flee the country as the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces enters its fifth week.

ADVERTISEMENT

As fighting in Sudan entered a fifth week, shelling and air strikes pounded parts of the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday with little sign that warring military factions were ready to back down.

A witness in the west of the city reported army air strikes on paramilitary forces, as brutal urban warfare continued in Sudan's densely-populated capital.

This comes even as representatives of the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue holding talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at preventing a "humanitarian catastrophe" in their country.

Fighting erupted on 15 April between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the RSF.

The United Nations said on Sunday that more than 750 people have been killed and over 5,000 others injured in the unrest, although the real death toll is expected to be much higher.

Meanwhile, Sudanese continue to flee the ongoing fighting. An estimated 200,000 people have escaped into neighbouring countries while more than 700,000 have been internally displaced.

At the Argeen border with neighbouring Egypt, new families arrive every day, making the 1,000 kilometre journey from Khartoum through the desert in search of safety.

But not everyone has the financial means to be able to leave.

"The bus ride costs $250 a person. Then there’s the official tariffs on both sides of the crossing and rental for a place to live in Egypt. Not everyone can afford this, it's a large expense," said evacuee Wahag Gafar Ibrahim.

She said the trip was “really tiring and scary", adding that the war in her country had "affected everyone".

The United Nations says over half a million people have fled Khartoum alone, with hospitals in the capital shelled and rampant looting reported as residents suffer under chronic shortages of food, electricity, and medicine.

Hopes for a ceasefire remain dim after multiple truces were violated in the past weeks.

On Saturday, Sudan launched a call to the international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, and other regional organisations, "to provide humanitarian assistance".

Civilians and aid groups have repeatedly pleaded for humanitarian corridors to secure vital assistance, as aid agencies have been systematically looted and at least 18 humanitarian workers killed.

Share this articleComments

You might also like

UN Security Council calls for Sudan ceasefire over Ramadan

WFO: Sudan's war risks creating 'world's largest hunger crisis'

At least 17 killed in Sudan in one of the deadliest strikes of the war