CAIRO, April 25. /TASS/. Intense fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continued on Tuesday despite an agreement to cease fire for three days that was reached a day earlier. According to Arab television channels broadcasting from Sudan, artillery fire has been heard in Khartoum since morning.

The Al-Hadath television channel reported that clashes had resumed near the presidential palace in Khartoum and in parts of the city of Omdurman.

What the two sides are saying

The RSF laid the blame for violating the truce on the Sudanese Armed Forces and stated that the army's failure to comply with the truce indicates a split in its command. An RSF statement posted on Twitter said the army "opened artillery fire at RSF positions in the vicinity of the presidential palace," and Sudanese aircraft were seen in the skies over Khartoum.

"Indiscriminate shelling endangers the lives of civilians and citizens of these fraternal and friendly countries, and prevents any kind of truce from being observed," the RSF said. "We pledged, under the terms of the truce, to open humanitarian corridors for civilians and foreign citizens < ... >. The violation of the truce confirms the existence of more than one decision-making center in the army command."

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry reaffirmed the army's commitment to the ceasefire and warned the RSF against "using the truce to deploy their forces and commit new crimes against the civilian population."

"The response of the army command to the truce confirms its desire to protect civilians and comply with international humanitarian law," the Al-Arabiya television channel quoted the ministry as saying. The Foreign Ministry condemned "the ongoing attacks by the RSF on ambassadors, diplomats and the headquarters of diplomatic missions."

New humanitarian ceasefire agreement

A few minutes before midnight on Monday, the Sudanese Armed Forces announced they had agreed to the terms of the 72-hour truce.

"On the basis of Saudi-US mediation efforts that are aimed at ending the hostilities in the country, evacuating civilians, as well as on humanitarian grounds, the armed forces agree to a 72-hour truce, effective from midnight today, provided that the rebels commit to cease hostilities and comply with the requirements of the truce," the army said in an official statement.

Ongoing evacuation

Thousands of foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sudan in recent days. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and France have all closed their embassies in Khartoum. Many other countries are reducing their diplomatic presence or relocating institutions to nearby countries.

The Al-Arabiya television channel reported on Tuesday, citing a diplomatic source, that preparations are underway to evacuate hundreds more people, including UN staff and citizens from 18 countries.

The RSF and the army are going back and forth about who is to blame for hindering the humanitarian process. Each side claims to support and assist representatives of foreign governments in the evacuation of citizens and diplomatic missions of their countries.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese residents, according to the latest reports, have fled to neighboring countries such as Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.

About the conflict

The situation in Sudan escalated over disagreements between army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the Sovereignty Council, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is his deputy in the council. The main points of contention between the two military organizations are related to the timeline and methods of forming a unified armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should become the commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is the option supported by al-Burhan, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists. On April 15, clashes erupted between the sides near a military base in the city of Merowa and in Khartoum. According to the latest data from the Health Ministry, more than 600 people have been killed in the clashes. The World Health Organization said 420 lives had been lost, while more than 3,700 people sustained wounds.