Clashes broke out in Sudan last week after several days of tension between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The death toll has already crossed 300, while thousands of others have sustained injuries, even serious ones.
At the heart of the conflict is an intense power struggle between two rival commanders, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the military, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, his deputy and leader of the paramilitary force.
The two groups used to be allies and together orchestrated a military coup in October 2021, bringing a fragile transition to civilian rule to an almost halt. But tensions increased thereafter over a proposed integration of the RSF into the regular army.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
has called for an implementation of a three-day truce marking the Eid al-Fitr
holiday, to enable trapped residents to escape as well as access essential
supplies such as food and medical treatment.