Sudan: as fighting continues, aid cannot be delivered

Fighting continued on Monday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and the surrounding areas between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, causing the humanitarian situation to deteriorate further. More than half of the population needs humanitarian aid, while aid organisations estimate that six million people are on the brink of starvation, but aid cannot get through to those in need because of the fighting.

Heavy fighting and hunger threaten to plunge Sudan and the region into a humanitarian catastrophe, the UN has warned. The international organisation explained that it has received just a quarter of the funding pledged while its teams face bureaucratic obstacles when trying to deliver aid.

In Omdurman, the army’s heavy artillery units fired dozens of shells from the Karari military base, north of the city, towards the RSF deployed in the city centre and to the east. The militia responded by firing rocket-propelled grenades from their positions in Khartoum towards army sites. A Sudanese Air Force jet bombed RSF units in the centre of the capital.

Members of the RSF shared video clips on social media showing their presence around the vicinity of the Armoured Corps command centre in Al-Shajara area, south of Khartoum. This came a day after the army announced that it had secured the perimeter of the command centre.

READ: $1bn needed to help 1.8m people fleeing Sudan: UN