Latest Sudan updates: UN chief appeals for 3-day Eid ceasefire

Annette Weber, European Union envoy to the Horn of Africa told Al Jazeera from Nairobi that “Both sides have a responsibility to cease fire.

“We have more than 1,500 European citizens in Sudan, and our priority is that they have safe passage out. We, as an international community, have a message to urge both sides to stop fighting,” she said.

Laura Locastro, representative of the United Nations high commissioner for refugees in Chad told Al Jazeera from N’Djamena that she has returned from a mission on the border with West Darfur, where she witnessed refugees arriving in Chad.

“At first, most of the refugees were women and children. But today the refugees are entire families, carrying as many mattresses as they can carry. They used to say that it was the second or third time they fled and they did not want to return to Sudan,” she said.

“We plan to provide them with immediate assistance. We discussed this with the local authorities in the area, and they said that the refugees cannot stay for more than two weeks. Perhaps they could be housed in refugee camps. We are trying to develop contingency plans to work with UNICEF and the World Food Programme to provide humanitarian aid as quickly as possible.”

Sudan’s army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has received separate phone calls from the United States, Saudi and Qatari foreign ministers, as well as from the Turkish president and the Egyptian intelligence chief, an army statement has reported.

All parties, including calls from the UN secretary-general, and South Sudan and Ethiopia leaders, affirmed the necessity to stop the violence and resort to dialogue.

Al Jazeera’s Haitham Uweit, reporting from Khartoum, says the capital “is waiting for an initiative to save the situation from violent confrontations, to save Eid night”.

Uweit said “There is an initiative called the National Force Initiative and it is led by some leaders of civil parties. It said in a statement that it had communicated with the two leaders of the conflict and obtained preliminary approval for a truce on Eid.

“It is conditional on some notes. It said that it will study these notes to formulate a comprehensive truce to be agreed upon by the parties during the Eid al-Fitr period.”

Thomas Okedi, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) area manager in El Fasher, Darfur, told Al Jazeera: “Today is the sixth day of fighting in Sudan. I continue to be holed up in our guesthouse with other colleagues.

“I am in touch with other humanitarian organisations in El Fasher and more than 900,000 displaced people in North Darfur have not yet received assistance. Looting is becoming rampant, and it is still dangerous to be out there. A vehicle that relocated some of our staff yesterday was carjacked.

“Thankfully our colleagues were allowed to walk away. We continue to live in extreme fear and the situation for the urban poor in the slums of El Fasher and IDPs [internally displaced persons] in North Darfur is dehumanising, unbearable and a clear path towards death. Safety, access and resources need to be urgently mobilised for the people of Sudan.”

Ali Bashir, vice president of the Sudanese Medical Association, told Al Jazeera from Khartoum, “We are witnessing extremely complex humanitarian conditions in light of a fragile health system.

“We demand safe humanitarian corridors to transport the sick and clear the streets of the corpses that have begun to rot on the roads. There is a big shortage of blood bags, and people cannot come to donate blood due to unsafe roads,” he said.

Elsadig Elnour, Islamic Relief’s country director in Sudan says that it is “a sad Eid for people in Sudan and there is nothing to celebrate right now.

“Many people have lost loved ones to the violence, they’re running out of money, shops are shut and food is scarce. Many of the poorest families face an Eid with barely anything to eat,” Elnour said in a news release.

“Families can’t move around without risking their lives and are trapped at home. My own family spent most of the past 24 hours hibernating as there was intensive fighting close by. Those who can flee are scrambling to leave Khartoum and get to safer rural villages. At the moment, there is no sign of when it will end, but we pray there will be a real ceasefire for Eid.”

The charity called on both sides to ensure civilians and aid workers are protected from violence, and that humanitarian agencies can safely access people in need.

Former British ambassador to Sudan Nicholas Kay told Al Jazeera from London that the situation in Sudan concerns the entire region.

“Forty-six million Sudanese are suffering now. There is no interest for any party in the collapse of the state in Sudan. I think we have to remember that tomorrow is the first day of Eid al-Fitr, and this is an important day for agreeing to a three-day ceasefire for humanitarian purposes that are in the interest of all.

“If there is no ceasefire during Eid, I am afraid that the situation in Sudan will descend into one of the most dangerous wars in the region,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Haitham Uweit reporting from Khartoum says that “Clashes are still raging around the presidential palace.

“We just heard explosions. So far, the truce asked by Guterres has not been accepted,” he said.

Former US Ambassador to Sudan Timothy Carney told Al Jazeera from Boston that the best option currently is to achieve a truce, “at least for the Eid period”.

“But there is the possibility of continuing the fighting and then dealing with the victor if any side can win. Then, start threatening the victor that sanctions will be imposed if there is no transition to civil authority in Sudan. The African Union can also be given a role to put pressure on both sides of the fighting,” Carney said.

“Another possibility is the Security Council’s use of Chapter VII and the imposition of peacekeeping forces. The key, in my opinion, is that the Sudanese military leaders must accept their responsibility to protect the Sudanese people. I believe that the United States is working in cooperation with the regional powers to maintain verbal pressure on the combatants to reach a truce that leads to negotiations.”

Former US diplomat Timothy Carney told Al Jazeera from Boston that, “The two leaders’ talk about the truce is nothing more than a political tactic, and neither of them is ready for serious negotiations.”

“The new Sudanese state cannot have two independent armies,” he said.

The US Department of State has urged the parties to extend a ceasefire through the end of Eid al-Fitr, and said Washington’s view is the 24-hour ceasefire announced on Wednesday had mostly held despite renewed heavy gunfire that erupted on Thursday.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Haitham Uweit said “a sense of calm prevails” in the capital after a warplane was heard bombing several sites.

“Everyone is waiting to see if the two warring parties will declare a new truce because of Eid,” he said.

“A sad feeling dominates the Sudanese people, who receive Eid in this atmosphere. There are no manifestations of welcoming Eid in light of the mass flight of people of Khartoum. Usually, the Sudanese visit the neighbouring villages in a celebration of Eid, but now, they go there in sad circumstances.”

In a news statement, Elsadig Elnour, Islamic Relief’s country director in Sudan has called for “parties to the conflict to agree safe routes to evacuate injured people”.

“Hospitals need urgent support. Most hospitals in Khartoum are no longer functioning and several hospitals have been bombed and shot at. Others have run out of fuel and cannot function. Those still open are crowded with injured people and running out of medicine and supplies. They don’t even have enough bandages,” Elnour said.

“Lots of injured people can’t even reach hospital as the streets are too dangerous as the fighting spreads into more residential areas. We urgently need the parties to the conflict to agree safe routes to evacuate injured people and enable aid agencies to support people.”

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Haitham Uweit says fierce military confrontations are continuing.

“We hear explosions throughout the capital. The situation is getting more difficult,” he added.

“A sad feeling dominates the Sudanese people, who prepare for Eid in this atmosphere.”

Yasser Abdullah, a political analyst in Khartoum, says the statements of the rival generals to Al Jazeera left “no room for a truce or an end to the war soon”.

“The two sides will not sit at the negotiating table unless regional and international pressure is applied to them,” he added.

The UN secretary-general has called on Sudan’s warring sides to observe a three-day ceasefire to mark the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

“I appeal for a ceasefire to take place for at least three days marking the Eid al-Fitr celebrations to allow civilians trapped in conflict zones to escape and seek medical treatment, food and other essential supplies,” Guterres told reporters.

“This must be the first step in providing respite from the fighting and paving the way for a permanent ceasefire,” he said.

“I’ve been personally engaged in doing everything possible to make it happen. I’m deeply concerned about the terrible toll on civilians, the appalling humanitarian situation and the horrifying prospects of further escalation ,” he added.

Pentagon says the United States is deploying forces to prepare for the possible evacuation of American embassy staff in Sudan as rival factions battle in Khartoum.

“We are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US Embassy personnel from Sudan,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

The violence, which started on Saturday, has left more than 330 people dead.

Reporting from Khartoum, Haitham Uweit says intense clashes have renewed near the General Command of the army and the presidential palace in the capital.

“Daily, at this time, clashes intensify in this important military area,” he added.

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey reporting from the United Nations said an update is expected from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when the meeting with several regional organisations ends.

“The UN and all these organisations are concerned about the situation and considering what they might be able to do to help restore calm to the area. The UN has hundreds of workers in Sudan, in the Khartoum area who have been affected by this violence,” Saloomey said.

“The UN Integrated Transition Mission there was established in 2020 to help oversee the transition to a democratic government in the country, so the UN is very vested in what’s happening there and very concerned.”