Nairobi (Kaab TV) – Parts of Sudan’s capital have been taken over by a paramilitary force, according to locals who remain in the city.
The civilians who remain are enduring a cautious coexistence as negotiations for an end to the war, which began almost two weeks ago, fail to make progress.
Residents say the fighters, the Rapid Support Forces, seemed to control much of Khartoum’s city center and surrounding districts, as well as parts of its twin city, Omdurman.
They describe negotiating with fighters at roadblocks and grudgingly sharing food and water. Some fighters have moved into abandoned homes.
Sudan’s military are positioned farther out. They control entries and exits to and from Khartoum and use warplanes to carry out strikes on R.S.F. targets.
RSF accepts three-day extension of truce
The Rapid Support Forces says it has agreed to extend the ceasefire in Sudan by three days.
Earlier, the Sudanese military accepted the extension of the truce. The ceasefire and its extension had been brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia.
The existing truce, which was to expire at midnight Thursday, has not stopped the fighting between the two sides but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate hundreds of their citizens by land and sea.
The White House urged U.S. citizens to leave Sudan within the next 48 hours “because the situation could deteriorate at any moment.”
“The situation in Sudan could worsen at any moment and Americans should leave within the next 24 to 48 hours,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has said.
More than 3,500 people arrived in Ethiopia
More than 3,500 people, including hundreds of Turkish nationals, have arrived in Ethiopia after fleeing heavy fighting in Sudan, an official from the UN’s International Organization for Migration has said.
The United Nations has warned that the violence could force as many as 270,000 people to seek refuge in neighbouring South Sudan and Chad, while others have fled to Egypt and Ethiopia.