Sudanese Army troops and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces engaged in fierce fighting for the fourth day in a row in the capital Khartoum and a number of towns on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses in central Khartoum told KUNA that the foe forces battled with heavy arms and aircraft around the army headquarters and the presidential palace. Meanwhile, the army declared that the regular troops retook the northern airport of Merowe following heavy fighting.
Commander of the rapid forces Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo declared his acceptance of a US proposal to cease fighting for 24 hours for humanitarian reasons.
Dagalo declared in a tweet his acceptance of the cease-fire proposal following a contact from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and efforts by a number of states. He indicated that there would be safe corridors for evacuating the wounded from the hot spots.
The rapid forces have been heeding the call for the cease-fire since yesterday dawn, however the foe forces have not abided by the truce and have continued to launch air attacks on residential regions, he said.
An army spokesman said that military command was not aware of any mediation regarding a truce, arguing that the “rebels declared the 24 hours truce to cover the crushing defeat they will suffer in hours.” He also expressed resolve to pursue the military operations until attaining the set goals.
Sudan has recently witnessed relentless efforts to ensure transition to civil rule. However, differnces surfaced between the nation’s two military powers, the army and the paramilitary forces, reportedly over mechanisms of integrating the irregulars into the army, pending further steps to shift rule to civilians.
The dispute has deepened between the two military forces and led to outbreak of the fighting that has claimed around 200 lives and left scores of people injured. The fighting has caused multiple issues for the civilians during the fasting month of Ramadhan, namely shortage of necessities.
Source: Kuwait News Agency