Residents in Khartoum reported today, Wednesday, that they heard clashes between the Sudanese army and the "Rapid Support Forces" last night in parts of the capital, especially in Omdurman, on the second day of a week-long truce aimed at allowing aid delivery and paving the way for a longer truce. They added that they heard heavy artillery fire near the Wadi Sayedna military base on the outskirts of the capital.

Media outlets quoted eyewitnesses as saying that heavy weapons clashes renewed north of Khartoum Bahri, and parachuting pilots from a warplane before it was hit in Omdurman.

Sudan was already facing severe humanitarian pressures before the outbreak of conflict on April 15, which forced over a million people to flee their homes and threatened to destabilize the region.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said today, Wednesday, that more than 300,000 have fled Sudan so far to neighboring countries, with many crossing into Chad and Egypt in recent days. He added in a tweet on Twitter, "Donor contributions to the refugee response plan remain scant. We urgently need more resources to support refugee-hosting countries."

The United Nations says the number of people in need of assistance inside Sudan has jumped to 25 million, more than half the country's population.

In a related context, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described today, Wednesday, what is happening in Sudan as "heartbreaking" and directly called on the fighting parties to stop sexual violence and protect civilians.

Türk said in a press briefing in Geneva, "General (Abdel Fattah) al-Burhan, General (Mohamed Hamdan) Dagalo, you must issue clear and unambiguous instructions to all those under your command stating zero tolerance for sexual violence... The lives of civilians must be protected and you must stop this senseless violence immediately."

Mediation Statement

Saudi Arabia and the United States reiterated last night, Tuesday, the importance of the ceasefire agreement and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan, signed by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Jeddah last Saturday, after five weeks of ongoing conflict.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement that both parties have not adhered to not seeking military gains before the ceasefire, adding that Riyadh and Washington demand both parties in Sudan adhere to the ceasefire.

The statement pointed out, "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America renew their affirmation of the importance of the short-term ceasefire agreement and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan, signed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the city of Jeddah, on May 20, 2023, after five weeks of ongoing conflict. The Sudanese people urgently need humanitarian aid and the restoration of basic services, which will be possible under the temporary ceasefire."

It added, "The facilitators (Saudi Arabia and the United States) noted during these talks that both parties have not yet adhered to not seeking military gains during the 48-hour period before the ceasefire took effect, and although fighting in Khartoum is less intense than before, the facilitators informed the conflict parties of ceasefire violations, including attacks in Khartoum and Al-Obeid, airstrikes, and exploitation of weapons."

The statement confirmed, "Representatives of the Follow-up and Coordination Committee engaged today in Jeddah in constructive discussions on humanitarian aid and its delivery, working to include party leaders to address allegations of ceasefire violations and work on delivering humanitarian aid to those in need."

It continued: "Given the continued suffering of the Sudanese people as a result of this devastating conflict, the Kingdom and the United States renew their commitment to the Sudanese people and call on both parties to adhere to the obligations they signed for the temporary ceasefire to provide essential humanitarian assistance."

Discussion of Violations

Earlier, the US State Department said the United States and a monitoring committee based in Saudi Arabia, along with the two warring parties in Sudan, are discussing allegations of violations of the ceasefire agreement agreed upon by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.

The truce reached last Saturday, after five weeks of battles, brought relative calm yesterday, Tuesday, apparently, but artillery sounds could be heard in some parts of Khartoum.

Matthew Miller, the department spokesman, said in a press briefing that members of the ceasefire monitoring committee, consisting of Saudi and American officials, along with representatives of the two warring parties in Sudan, are discussing reported violations of the ceasefire agreement with military leaderships in Sudan and Washington.

He added, "We have clearly seen the reports (about violations). The monitoring mechanism officials are reviewing those reports. When we see ceasefire violations, we announce those violations and speak directly with the conflict parties."

Miller indicated that State Department officials have been holding talks since the outbreak of fighting with senior military leaders and other officials from both sides and will continue to do so "to pressure them to stop the violence when we see ceasefire violations."

He added, without elaborating, that Washington has "additional tools" to pressure the warring parties and "will not hesitate to use those tools at the appropriate time."

Relative Calm

Khartoum witnessed battles and air raids on Monday night into Tuesday, despite the start of a week-long truce between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which is supposed to allow civilians to leave and humanitarian aid to enter Sudan.

Relative calm prevailed yesterday, Tuesday, across various neighborhoods of the capital as well as several cities in the Darfur region in the west of the country, the most affected by the war with Khartoum, according to residents.

But a humanitarian worker told AFP that there do not seem to be safe corridors allowing civilian movement or delivery of aid shipments.

A resident in Khartoum said Tuesday morning that intermittent artillery shelling was resonating in the capital.

After the truce officially took effect on Monday at 19:45 GMT, other residents in Khartoum reported battles and air raids.

Since April 15, the conflict between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti," has resulted in the deaths of a thousand people and more than a million displaced and refugees.