Fighting continues as the warring sides enter pre-negotiation talks with Saudi Arabia and the US as mediators.
This is the situation on Sunday, May 7, 2023:
to fight:
- Airstrikes and fighting continued in the capital of Khartoum, including in the city of Khartoum north of the Nile from Khartoum, where fighter jets and explosions were heard at night.
- The Sudanese army drove the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) out of Nyala, in South Darfur state, according to Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan.
- Save the Children UK said on Saturday that a former school in Darfur burned down during fighting there last week, adding that at least 190 children have been killed since the conflict began.
New photos have emerged of a former school in Darfur, supported by Save the Children, that burned down in fighting last week. At least 190 children have been killed since the attack, according to UN estimates #Sudan The conflict started three weeks ago. Spox available. pic.twitter.com/VcOXhmXxVK
— SavetheChildren News (@SaveUKNews) May 6, 2023
Humanitarian situation:
- On Saturday, the World Health Organization said 30 tons of medical supplies had arrived in Port Sudan by air, one of the first such shipments since fighting began. The WHO is still awaiting security and entry clearances to make similar shipments to Khartoum, where the few functioning hospitals have run out of supplies.
- Qatar flew a relief flight to Sudan with about 40 tons of food and took off with 150 evacuees.
- At least 550 people, including civilians, have been killed and more than 4,900 injured since the conflict broke out on April 15, according to the Sudanese health ministry.
- The UN refugee agency estimates that the number of people fleeing Sudan is likely to reach 860,000.
Diplomacy:
- Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo of the RSF confirmed the group’s participation in indirect talks between the warring factions in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. Saudi Arabia and the United States welcomed the start of these “pre-negotiation talks”, the first serious attempt to end the fighting, although both sides said they would only discuss a humanitarian ceasefire, not an end to the war.
- White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Saudi Arabia to mediate talks with Saudi leaders.
- The Sudanese pro-democracy movement said the talks would be “a first step” towards ending the conflict.
- Turkey plans to move its embassy in Khartoum to Port Sudan after the Turkish ambassador’s car was hit by gunfire, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.