Sudan’s army conducted airstrikes in the capital Khartoum on Monday, residents said, seeking to win ground against its paramilitary rivals hours before a week-long ceasefire aimed at allowing delivery of aid was due to take effect.
The army also carried out air strikes into the evening on Sunday, witnesses said, targeting vehicles from mobile units of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that have been operating across residential areas in the capital since the conflict between the two military factions erupted on April 15.
Both sides have said they will abide by a ceasefire starting at 21:45 local time (19:45 GMT). Though fighting has continued through previous ceasefires, this is the first truce to be formally agreed following negotiations.
The ceasefire deal includes a monitoring mechanism involving the army and the RSF as well as representatives from Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered the agreement after talks in Jeddah.
The deal has raised hopes of a pause in a war that has driven nearly 1.1 million people from their homes, including more 250 000 who have fled into neighbouring countries, threatening to destabilise a volatile region.
On Monday, residents reported air strikes in Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri, the three cities that make up the greater capital, separated by the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile. They also said clashes could be heard in central Khartoum.
“The situation is horrible. The planes are bombing us on every side and from the strength of the vibration of the house doors, we feel like we’ll die today,” said Salma Abdallah, a resident of Al Riyadh neighbourhood in Khartoum.
The army has struggled to dislodge the RSF from strategic positions in central Khartoum and from neighbourhoods where it has occupied civilian buildings. The RSF, which has its roots in the feared militias that fought with the government in Darfur, is adept at ground fighting, while the army has depended largely on air strikes and heavy artillery.
