Thousands of civilians have fled Sudan’s capital and foreign nations are trying to evacuate their citizens, amid a fifth day of fierce fighting.
Witnesses reported people leaving Khartoum in cars and on foot on Wednesday morning, as gunfire and deafening explosions rocked the city.
Meanwhile, officials in Japan and Tanzania say they are considering missions to evacuate their citizens.
The exodus follows Tuesday’s collapsed ceasefire between the warring factions.
The Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Tuesday, but the truce collapsed within minutes of its proposed launch at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT).
A new ceasefire with the same timing was put forward by the RSF on Wednesday. The army said it would abide by the truce – but gunfire can still be heard across the capital.
Smoke can be seen over the area of the army headquarters in the centre of the city, where much of the fighting between rival military factions is centred.
The fighting at the moment mostly involves shelling, not heavy air bombardments.
Civilians began to flee the capital early on Wednesday morning after fighting resumed and Khartoum was enveloped in thick black smoke following explosions near the army headquarters.
Witnesses reported heavily armed RSF fighters patrolling the city on pick-up trucks, while fighter jets loyal to the military conducted strikes on targets believed to be held by the paramilitary forces.
A shortage of fuel and a lack of public transport has seen many of those fleeing forced to do so on foot, with some seeking to get passage to central and western Sudan – where their families live – on flatbed trucks.
One local fleeing the capital told the BBC that the RSF had set up checkpoints on roads around the city and some of its fighters had robbed him, stealing his phone and some money.
Source: bbc.com
