The situation in Sudan has rapidly deteriorated as the fighting between the army and paramilitary groups has spread across the country. The University of Khartoum has become a hotspot due to its proximity to the General Command of the Armed Forces, with warplanes hovering overhead, and nearby buildings destroyed by fire. For over three days, students at the university have been trapped inside campus buildings with food and water running low, and leaving not an option due to the gunfire outside. One student has already been killed by gunfire, and civilians continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing power struggle between military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The violence has claimed at least 180 lives and left 1,800 others injured, with hospitals and diplomatic staff becoming the targets of the fighting.
The EU ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his residency, and three workers from the UN’s World Food Programme were killed in the western region of Darfur. In response, the UN and foreign leaders have called for peace, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken holding separate talks with both Burhan and Dagalo. Blinken expressed grave concern about the death and injury of so many Sudanese civilians and argued that a ceasefire was necessary to deliver aid, reunify separated families, and ensure the safety of diplomatic and humanitarian staff. The foreign ministers of G7 nations, comprised of some of the world’s largest economies, urged the factions to end hostilities immediately in their joint statement from Japan on Tuesday.
The situation remains critical, with both sides accusing the other of breaking ceasefires and continuing to engage in violent conflict. The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, has said that the organization has been trying to convince the two rival parties to hold the fire for a period of time and asked them to protect embassies, UN offices, humanitarian, and medical facilities. Both sides had agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday and again on Monday, with fighting resuming afterward. However, both Burhan and Dagalo have since accused the other of breaking the ceasefire. When CNN spoke to Burhan on Monday afternoon, the sound of gunshots rang out in the background despite the supposed ceasefire – and Burhan claimed Dagalo had violated it for the second day. A spokesperson for the RSF rebutted the accusation, claiming that they had been trying to abide by the ceasefire, but "they keep firing, which leaves no choice" but for the RSF to "defend itself by firing back."