Shelling shook parts of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, on Wednesday June 28, dashing promises of a “unilateral” truce announced a day earlier by the country’s army. The temporary ceasefire had been announced in the framework of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, but clashes with the paramilitaries of the Rapid Attention Forces (FAR) continue. The two parties to the conflict have been fighting for power through arms since last April.
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the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Attention Forces (FAR)broke this Wednesday, June 28, the truce announced by the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
This is considered the greatest festival of Islam, which according to its parishioners symbolizes devotion and gratitude to God, remembering that Abraham agreed to kill his own son as a sign of his love for him, which finally put an animal in his place.
But despite the religious celebration and the promise of a temporary “unilateral” ceasefire, announced a day earlier by the the head of the Army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, airstrikes and gunfire were reported in Khartoum, the capital. Residents said they observed flames of fire and smoke in several areas of the city.
“Fighter jets flew overhead and sporadic heavy weapons fire was heard in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and south of Um Durman, hours after the army announced a truce on the first day of Eid al-Adha,” several sources told EFE, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The leader of the paramilitary group, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”, had also announced a truce for this Wednesday, “except in cases of self-defense”, he stressed.
However, and as has been the case since the beginning of the conflict, on April 15, the announced truces are not respected.
Al Burhan calls on young people to take up arms
In his speech on Tuesday, al-Burhan accused “Hemedti” of carrying out a “treacherous plot” to “tear apart the unity” of the country, “fragment its social fabric and displace its people.”
He also called on young people to take up arms and participate in the fighting.
“The conspiracy demands that we all be awake and ready to respond to the existential threats looming over our country, so we call on all young people and those who can defend themselves not to hesitate to play this role, whether from where they live or enlisting in the Armed Forces,” declared the head of the Sudanese Army.
Part of the civilian population rejected that call, calling it “useless” and “dangerous.”
“I am against Burhan’s call that tells young people to take up arms and fight with the Army, because if these young people have never fought in a battle or carried arms before, they will be of no use to the Army,” he said. A resident of the capital told AFP this Wednesday.
Sudan was plunged into chaos in mid-April when clashes began between the military institution, led by General al-Burhan, and the FAR paramilitaries, commanded by General Dagalo. Violence is particularly strong in the capital and in the western region of Darfur.
On Tuesday June 27, the United Nations (UN) declared that the conflict is likely to force more than a million residents to leave the country before next October.
More than 3,000 people have died so far, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, and some 2.5 million people have been displaced, according to UN figures. Most of those fleeing have taken refuge in Egypt and Chad.
With AP, AFP and EFE
