Sudan ceasefire in danger as residents report fighting, warplanes

Artillery fire could be heard in parts of Khartoum and warplanes flew overhead on Tuesday, residents said, raising fears that intense fighting would erupt and shatter Sudanese hopes raised by an internationally-monitored ceasefire.

Some other residents reported relative calm early on Tuesday, the first full day of a truce that is being tracked by Saudi Arabia and the United States and is meant to allow for the delivery of humanitarian relief. Activists wrote to the United Nations envoy to Sudan complaining of severe human rights abuses against civilians that they said took place as the fighting raged.After five weeks of fierce battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the warring factions on Saturday agreed to a seven-day truce that began at 9:45 p.m. (1945 GMT) on Monday, aimed to allow for the delivery of aid.The ceasefire deal, reached in talks in Jeddah, has raised hopes of a pause in a war that has driven nearly 1.1 million people from their homes, including more than 250,000 who have fled to neighbouring countries, threatening to destabilise a volatile region.

Reuters