Sudan unrest updates: Fighting continues despite pause agreement

The latest violence in Sudan began on Saturday after weeks of tension between the army and the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

After years of coups, protests and political instability, the people of Sudan were getting ready for a new government.

But now, those plans are at risk as the threat of an all-out civil war looms over the country.

So, how will this play out?

Qatar Airways says it has suspended flights to Sudan due to the closure of Khartoum International Airport, Qatar News Agency said.

Fighting erupted on Saturday between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council.

The region bloc, The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), plans to send the presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti to reconcile the sides fighting in Sudan, Kenyan President William Ruto’s office said on Twitter.

“IGAD resolved to send Presidents Kiir, President Ruto and President Guelleh at the earliest possible time to reconcile the conflicting groups,” Ruto’s office said.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Sudan’s capital Khartoum, says the three-hour humanitarian ceasefire announced by the warring sides has come to an end.

“The duration for the short period of ceasefire has already passed. It was from around four o’clock local time to seven. Within that three-hour period, we were able to hear the sounds of heavy artillery in various parts of the capital, Khartoum. We were able to see smoke rising from the southern and northern parts of the city,” Morgan said.

“The whole purpose of the three-hour ceasefire period was to allow those who were trapped around the vicinity of the presidential palace, around the vicinity of the general command of the army to be able to escape – as well as those trapped in areas near the RSF bases which are facing air strikes by the Sudanese army fighter jets.”

“Many people we spoke to say they were not able to leave their homes,” Morgan said. “Many people have told us they could not access hospitals despite the need for medical attention. They say because of the uncertainty of what is going on they did not want to risk stepping out onto the streets and facing the unknown.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned clashes in Sudan that have left dozens of civilians dead including three workers for the global body’s food agency, demanding swift justice over the killings.

Guterres “strongly condemns the deaths and injuries of civilians, including the death of three staff members of the World Food Programme in North Darfur, with a further two seriously injured”, the UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, adding: “Those responsible should be brought to justice without delay.”

African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat is planning to “immediately” go on a ceasefire mission to Sudan, the body said, as fighting raged for a second day between the army and paramilitaries.

Following an emergency meeting, the African Union (AU) said in a statement that it “requests the chairperson of the AU commission to continue using his good offices to engage with the parties to the conflict in order to facilitate dialogue and peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan; and commends his commitment to immediately travel to Sudan to engage the parties towards a ceasefire.”

No further details were immediately available on the mission.

Expressing “grave concern and alarm”, the pan-African body also called on the forces of the two battling sides to “protect civilians especially women and children”.

Fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group is raging for a second day in Sudan.

As the international community calls for a ceasefire, here is what we know so far.

The Arab League has called for an immediate end to the violence in Sudan and offered to mediate between the country’s warring sides.

A statement issued following an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo called for “an immediate cessation of armed clashes in Sudan and a quick return to the peaceful path to resolve the crisis”.

The pan-Arab body said it is ready “to exert efforts to help Sudan end the crisis in a sustainable manner, in a way that serves the interest of the Sudanese people”.

It warned of serious repercussions of the violent escalation in Sudan, “the scope of which is difficult to determine internally and regionally”.

The heads of Sudan’s army and the country’s main paramilitary group both agreed to a three-hour humanitarian pause in their fighting as proposed by the United Nations, according to the UN mission in Sudan.

Both the army and the Rapid Support Forces also said in statements that they had agreed to the pause from 4pm to 7pm local time (14:00 to 17:00 GMT).

Sudan state television cut its transmission on Sunday afternoon, Reuters news agency reported, although it was not immediately clear what caused the outage.

The cut in transmission came amid fighting between Sudan’s army and the country’s main paramilitary group that erupted on Saturday.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Sayed Hamed, reporting from Merowe in northern Sudan, says fighting for control of the town’s airport appears to have ended.

“We have been hearing gunfire of both light and heavy weapons, which was likely to signal renewed fighting here within the vicinity of Merowe airport. Soon, it all came to a halt and what remains is the plumes of smoke from the vital installations within the facility close to its control tower,” Hamed said.

“The Rapid Support Forces had said they seized control of Merowe airport, claims denied by senior sources we contacted in the Sudanese army.”

“They confirmed the airport is under the army’s control as the armed forces deal with what they are calling small pockets of rebels – an apparent reference to the Rapid Support Forces.”

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council says it strongly rejects any external interference that could complicate the situation in Sudan.

The council held an emergency meeting on Sunday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss the ongoing unrest in Sudan.

The Pan-African AU called on “the countries of the region and other stakeholders to support ongoing efforts to return the country to the transition process towards a constitutional order”.

The Sudanese army says it has approved a proposal from the United Nations to open a safe passage for urgent humanitarian cases for three hours every day starting from 4pm local time (14:00 GMT) on Sunday.

In a statement, the army confirmed, however, that it will reserve the right to react if “the rebellious militia commits any violations”.

Earlier, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said it had temporarily halted all operations in Sudan after three of its employees were killed in clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a day earlier.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan – reporting from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum – said both sides in the conflict seem uninterested in holding talks to end the fighting.

“It doesn’t look like both sides are ready to sit down and talk to each other. We can see fighter jets hovering in the skies. We can hear air strikes in various parts of the capital, Khartoum,” Morgan said.

“We can see smoke rising from various locations in the city. We can also hear anti-aircraft missiles and artillery being fired from the city of Omdurman,” she added.

“It looks like despite the calls from the international community to end the fighting, no side is listening. Both sides seem determined to end the other.”

The situation in Sudan is deteriorating rapidly, and the country could be on the brink of civil war, according to a security analyst.

“I think we are very close to a situation of a full-scale civil war,” Matt Bryden, a strategic adviser at Sahan Research – a think tank focusing on politics and security in the Horn of Africa, told Al Jazeera.

“There really doesn’t seem to be any indication that there is an option of negotiation. Both sides are seeking total victory, and I don’t think that is a surprise for anyone who has been following the tensions in the build-up to this conflict,” he added.

After months of tension, fighting has broken out between Sudan’s army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.

But who are they?

The World Food Programme (WFP) has temporarily halted operations in Sudan after three employees were killed in the ongoing unrest in the country, the United Nations food agency said in a statement.

“While we review the evolving security situation, we are forced to temporarily halt all operations in Sudan,” the statement said.

“WFP is committed to assisting the Sudanese people facing dire food insecurity, but we cannot do our lifesaving work if the safety and security of our teams and partners is not guaranteed,” the statement added.

At least 56 civilians have been killed and 595 people, including combatants, have been wounded in fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Sudanese Doctors Union says as violence enters its second day in the capital, Khartoum.

Al Jazeera’s live television feed showed clouds of smoke billowing over Khartoum’s skyline on Sunday. Witnesses told the Reuters news agency that heavy artillery was fired across the capital and surrounding areas.

Read more here.

The United Nations has condemned the killing of three World Food Programme employees amid fighting in Sudan, saying the three died while carrying out their duties.

Volker Perthes, the head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), said that the three WFP employees were killed in clashes in Kabkabiya in North Darfur a day earlier.

“I also am extremely appalled by reports of projectiles hitting UN and other humanitarian premises, as well as reports of looting of UN and other humanitarian premises in several locations in Darfur,” Perthes, who is also the special envoy for the UN secretary-general for Sudan, added in his statement.