Fighting continues between Sudan's warring parties in Khartoum

KHARTOUM: Violent clashes continued between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with eastern parts of the capital Khartoum witnessing intense bombardment by the army's air force.

"A large logistical supply of weapons, ammunition and fuel belonging to the rebel militia has been dealt with in a qualitative operation that targeted some areas in Sharq Al-Neel (eastern Nile) locality and bases around the East Nile Hospital," the army said in a statement late Monday.

The statement said there were no civilian casualties during the operation, but the RSF said the bombardment resulted in the "death and injury of dozens of innocent citizens and the destruction of a large part of the hospital", reports Xinhua news agency.

Also on Monday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry condemned what it called the "RSF attacks" on a number of diplomatic missions in Khartoum.

"The RSF attacked and forcibly entered the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom of Jordan, the Embassy of South Sudan, the Embassy of the Republic of Somalia, the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda, the Military Attache of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Military Attache of the State of Kuwait," the Ministry said.

The statement said that the RSF damaged documents and furniture, and stole valuables, including computers and diplomatic vehicles without regard to international law.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission in Sudan on Monday issued a statement on the development of the situation in the country.

The Commission condemned the use of air force and heavy weapons in the vicinity of civilian residences, which resulted in civilian casualties.

It further demanded the evacuation of all health and civilian facilities, urging the conflicting parties not to deal with these facilities for military purposes or as military targets under any circumstances.

In its latest report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that at least 676 people have been killed since the clashes first broke out on April 15.

According to the report, over 936,000 people have been newly displaced by the conflict since April 15, including about 736,200 internally displaced, and about 200,000 taking refuge in neighbouring countries.

According to the UN, it is estimated that about 15.8 million Sudanese, or about one-third of the country's population, will need humanitarian aid in 2023, and the figure is likely to increase as a result of the war.

On May 11, the two warring parties signed in the Saudi port city of Jeddah the Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan to facilitate the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid and guarantee the safe evacuation of civilians.

However, the army and the RSF have accused each other of breaching the deal and continuing the armed clashes.