Residents of Sudan’s capital reported renewed heavy gunfire on Thursday over central Khartoum and some other areas as many tried to flee the city on the eve of the Eid holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Khartoum and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri have been rocked by fierce battles this week between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that have shut the city down, stranding many and causing food supplies to run short.
Early on Thursday, smoke and fires that had risen from the city in previous days had abated, live TV feeds over Khartoum showed, before the fighting erupted once again.
Gunfire was heard in Bahri and residents reported violent clashes west of Omdurman where they said the army had moved to block the arrival of RSF reinforcements.
Both sides said earlier they would respect a 24-hour cease-fire that was due to come into effect at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday, but was quickly broken by renewed fighting.
The RSF issued a statement about the breakdown in the truce, saying it came under attack in Omdurman and inflicted losses on the army in response, including shooting down two helicopters.