More civilians able to flee as Sudan experiences an uneasy truce.
Overnight, fighting in Sudan decreased as the army and the paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), agreed to a three-day truce.
As a result, more Sudanese were able to flee on Tuesday, and foreign countries could extract citizens from the area.
The conflict, which began on April 15th between the army and the RSF, has turned residential areas into war zones, causing at least 459 casualties, wounding over 4,000 people, and cutting off access to essential resources such as water, food, and power.
Several countries have evacuated embassy staff from Khartoum after several attacks on diplomats, including the killing of an Egyptian attache. Britain, France, and Germany have all evacuated over 500 people of different nationalities.
Many Sudanese families used the truce to search for transport to take them to safety.
The situation for those remaining in Sudan is deteriorating rapidly, as the country was already struggling with a third of the 46 million people needing aid before the violence.
Uncertainty regarding conditions in neighbouring countries did not deter tens of thousands from leaving to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
Some expressed concern over departing aid agencies and diplomats, potentially leaving fewer international observers in the area, which could signify less respect for civilians.
The United Nations humanitarian office has reported the cutting back of activities due to the fighting. With fewer international observers in the area, fighting forces may show less respect for civilians.
Yassir Arman, a leading figure in the civilian political coalition, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), has urged humanitarian organisations and international communities to help restore electricity and water and send generators to hospitals. UN agencies have reported a scarcity of food, clean water, medicines and fuel, limited communications and electricity, and soaring prices.
The RSF accused the army of violating the 72-hour truce that was agreed upon Monday and attacking its troops’ position at the presidential palace in Khartoum.
The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) has attributed the ceasefire to the US and Saudi Arabia. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that the agreement followed two days of intense negotiations.
Past truce agreements had unfailingly proven short-lived. Prior to the evening truce announcement, there were air strikes and ground fighting in Omdurman, the city adjacent to Khartoum, and clashes in Khartoum.
Dark smoke shrouded the sky near the international airport, near the army headquarters, and artillery fire was heard around the surroundings. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the violence risks a “catastrophic conflagration… that could engulf the whole region and beyond.”
