The country’s warring factions continue to fight despite the fact that they will extend a barely respected 72-hour ceasefire.
This is the situation on Monday, May 1, 2023:
To fight
- The Sudanese army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, said they would extend a humanitarian ceasefire for another 72 hours, but the shaky truce has so far failed to halt the fighting.
- Both forces accused each other of ceasefire violations. The agreement has de-escalated fighting in some areas, but violence continues to drive civilians to flee.
- Witnesses reported continued battles and fighter jets flying over parts of Khartoum and the capital’s sister city, Omdurman, on the other side of the Nile River.
- The Central Reserve Police, a paramilitary unit, has been deployed across Khartoum to “protect civilian property” from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming a statement from the military.
Humanitarian crisis
- The Civil Aviation Authority announced that Sudan’s airspace will remain closed until May 13, with the exception of relief and evacuation flights.
- Since fighting broke out on April 15, more than 500 people have been killed and tens of thousands have been displaced.
- The head of the United Nations said the UN’s top humanitarian official is on his way to the region because of the “rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis”.
- More than 5,000 people have fled to safety on Saudi Arabian ships crossing the Red Sea from Port Sudan, the kingdom said.
- Sudanese journalist Mohamed Alamin Ahmed, who is in Khartoum, told Al Jazeera that people had many reasons to flee the capital. “People are fleeing Khartoum not only because of the humanitarian situation and the bombs dropped on civilian homes, because of indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes, but also because of the looting of civilians on the streets and even in their homes,” he said.
Diplomacy and Evacuations
- The United Kingdom said it will conduct an additional evacuation flight from Port Sudan on Monday, having already transported more than 2,000 people out of the country from an airport near Khartoum.
- Canada said it is ending its evacuation flights due to “dangerous conditions”.
- Egypt on Monday convened a meeting of the permanent delegates of the Arab League to discuss the violence in Sudan.
- Two US officials said the United States has sent a naval vessel to evacuate its citizens.
- Nearly 1,000 Americans have been evacuated, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, adding that a government convoy has arrived in Port Sudan to take US citizens and other eligible people to Saudi Arabia. to take.
An update on our evacuation efforts in Sudan: a second convoy organized by the USG arrived in Port Sudan today. We are assisting U.S. citizens and others eligible with onward travel to Jeddah, where additional staff are on hand to assist with consular and emergency services.
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) April 30, 2023