Despite ceasefire, fighting on in Sudan

Khartoum, April 29

Gunfire and heavy artillery fire persisted on Saturday in parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, residents said, despite the extension of a cease-fire between the country’s two top generals, whose battle for power has killed hundreds and sent thousands fleeing for their lives. The civilian death toll jumped Saturday to 411 people, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which monitors casualties. The fighting has wounded another 2,023 civilians so far, the group added.

In the city of Genena, the provincial capital of war-ravaged West Darfur, intensified violence has killed 89 people. Fighters have moved into homes and taken over stores and hospitals as they battle in the streets, the syndicate said. Khartoum, a city of some 5 million people, has been transformed into a front line in the grinding conflict between Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of Sudan’s military, and Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, which has dashed once-euphoric hopes of Sudan’s democratic transition. — Agencies