With the entry into force of the fifth truce between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, African and international moves continued in an attempt to de-escalate and convince the parties to the conflict to sit at the negotiating table, amid warnings of a worsening health situation in the country.

The correspondent of the island heard violent explosions as a result of aerial bombardment on the southwestern parts of the city of Khartoum North, and said that clashes took place in the vicinity of the Republican Palace on Friday morning, and shells fell on the island of Tuti in central Khartoum.

Anti-Rapid Support (RSF) returned fire from army planes east of Khartoum North in the first hours of the fifth truce.

In El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state, activist organizations on Friday sounded the alarm about the situation in Darfur, where bloody fighting has been taking place for five days, especially near the Chadian border.

While the UN alluded to "distributing weapons to civilians" in Darfur, the Darfur Bar Association reported the appearance of fighters equipped with machine guns, RPGs and anti-aircraft missiles in the city firing shells at homes, and demanded that Burhan and Hemedti immediately stop "this senseless war."

For its part, the Sudanese Medical Syndicate said in a statement that there were "widespread looting and burning operations that affected markets, government and health facilities, the headquarters of voluntary and UN organizations and banks" in El Geneina. "Bloody events are still ongoing" in the city, leaving dozens dead and injured, it said.

On the other hand, the Sudanese Scholars Association (government) said that the Rapid Support Forces "committed a crime and unjustified aggression by betraying the Sudanese army and that the army fulfilled its duty to confront the aggression that began from the Rapid Support".

In a press statement, the Commission called on RSF personnel and officers to "comply with the call of the President of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, to surrender, surrender themselves and lay down arms," and demanded that police forces be tasked with supporting the army in guard duties for fear of saboteurs.

It also called for the formation of a non-partisan caretaker government, the completion of one-year power structures, the fair trial of all those involved in igniting the war and the prohibition of holders of dual passports from engaging in politics.


Political moves

In terms of political efforts, Azali Asoumani, President of the Comoros and current Chairman of the African Union, called on both Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) to immediately cease fighting and respect the lives of Sudanese civilians and foreign nationals.

Asoumani also called on the parties to immediately start negotiations to reach a peaceful solution to the current crisis, and urged "actors in the international community" to support the Union's efforts to restore peace and stability to Sudan.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had phone conversations with Burhan and Hemedti on settling differences amicably and stabilizing Sudan.

The commander of the Rapid Support Forces Hemedti said in a tweet that he discussed the crisis in Sudan, with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, who stressed the importance of finding a solution to the crisis for the stability of Sudan and the region, and expressed Addis Ababa's readiness to help resolve the crisis.

For its part, the media of the Sovereign Council said that the President of the Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan received calls from the President of the State of South Sudan, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, the President of the transitional government in Chad and the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, and that some of the callers stressed the need to return to normal in Sudan.


The tripartite mechanism consisting of the African Union, the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Quartet of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States, issued a statement welcoming the announcement by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces to extend the truce for 3 days.

The statement also welcomed the willingness of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to engage in dialogue to stop the fighting permanently and ensure unhindered humanitarian access.

The statement stated that the humanitarian arrangements will contribute to the development of the de-escalation plan contained in the African Union statement on the twentieth of this month, which was approved by the Arab League, the European Union and international partners.

South Sudan's Information Minister Michael McCoy Lueth called on Sudan's warring parties to listen to the international community and regional countries to come to the negotiating table.

Norway's ambassador to Sudan, Endro Stiansen, said the Sudanese parties must be pushed for a real ceasefire. He added, in remarks to Al Jazeera, that any mediation must link the status quo to the existing transitional political process.

Humanitarian situation

On the humanitarian level, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate announced that the number of civilian deaths since the start of the battles has risen to 387 and injuries to 1928,75 people, and the Syndicate stated that about <> people were killed in the city of El Geneina in West Darfur, noting that all hospitals in the city have become out of service, and that there are many injuries there.

The union said 59 of the 86 hospitals in the capital and states were out of service, and said 15 hospitals were bombed, while 19 hospitals were subjected to forced eviction.

She added that the Geneina Hospital in Darfur was attacked for the second time, as the hospital and the blood bank were looted, and pointed out that the children's department of the "Ibrahim Malik" hospital in Khartoum was bombed, despite the fact that it stopped working and was empty of patients.

Sudanese activists published photos showing the destruction of the hospital and the collapse of parts of it and the damage to other departments, including the children's department, as a result of the clashes on Thursday.

The syndicate said that 6 ambulances were attacked by military forces and others and were not allowed to pass to transport patients.


An official at the Sudanese Ministry of Health told Al Jazeera that the Rapid Support Forces took control of the Khartoum hospital, which is the largest hospital in the country, adding that the Rapid Support Forces expelled the hospital security teams and all health staff, and brought weapons and personnel carriers, he said.

The Sudanese official warned against the exploitation of health institutions as military facilities, saying it would cause great damage to those institutions.

Meanwhile, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distributing food to help Sudanese refugees who have arrived in Chad in recent days.

With the influx expected to continue, WFP appealed to donor countries for additional funding to help it deliver its humanitarian services.