The Sudanese army on Monday presented a statement on its field gains in the face of the Rapid Support Forces, amid continued fighting between the two parties and rising plumes of smoke in the sky of Khartoum, and while mediators heralded the imminent start of negotiations between the two parties in Saudi Arabia, UN and local agencies announced catastrophic figures on the number of dead and displaced.
Plumes of smoke rose in the sky over central Khartoum despite the entry into force of the sixth truce between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sovereignty Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti), deputy head of the Sovereignty Council.
"Warplanes are flying again over Khartoum North and the anti-aircraft of the Rapid Support are confronting them," the Al Jazeera correspondent said.
The correspondent reported a succession of sounds of gunfire from heavy and light weapons in the vicinity of the Republican Palace, and central Khartoum, as well as violent explosions and rising smoke north of the Kafouri neighborhood and around the Shambat and Sababi areas in Khartoum North.
The RSF said that "planes are still flying over Khartoum and bombing innocent civilians in residential neighborhoods." She accused those she described as coups of using the Medical Weapon Hospital in Omdurman as a platform to "bomb the headquarters of the medical department of our forces in Shambat".
The second commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that their forces still control their positions in the presidential palace, radio and television and Khartoum airport.
Rapid Support Commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) is "managing the political and military battle from the field" and troops are receiving instructions from him, he said.
Statement from the military
For its part, the Sudanese army said in a statement issued on Monday that the situation is stable in all states of Sudan, and that its forces were able during 15 days of fighting to reduce the combat capabilities of the Rapid Support Forces by 45 to 55%.
The army accused the RSF of mobilizing large capabilities "to hijack the Sudanese state, confiscate its decision and destroy its armed forces," according to the statement.
The army said the capabilities amounted to more than 27,39 fighters, more than 1950,104 of what it described as newcomers, 171,<> combat vehicles, <> armored personnel carriers and <> vehicles armed with machine guns.
The statement said that military reinforcements of those forces were thwarted from the west, and the advance of another force from the northwestern border was stopped.
The army said the moves confirm the RSF's continued attempts to strengthen its position on the ground.
Negotiation arrangements
Regarding the settlement efforts, the United Nations envoy to Sudan, Volker Peretz, said in statements to the Associated Press on Monday that the parties to the conflict agreed to send representatives for negotiations that may be held in Saudi Arabia.
Peretz said negotiations would initially focus on establishing a "stable and credible" ceasefire supervised by "domestic and international" observers, but cautioned that arrangements for such talks were still under way.
"It is important to reach out to both parties, to get them to abide by the ceasefire so that it is clear that fighting, moving forward and trying to achieve victories on the ground is actually a violation of the ceasefire," he said.
One possibility, he said, is to establish a ceasefire monitoring mechanism that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, but that must be negotiated.
Talks on consolidating a ceasefire could take place in Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that they could be logistically easier to hold in Riyadh because they have close ties with both sides.
"Even the talks in Saudi Arabia are challenging, because each side needs a safe passage through the other's territory to get to the venue of the talks. This is very difficult in case of mistrust."
There was no immediate comment from the Saudi side on the possibility of hosting talks between representatives of Burhan and Hemedti. There has also been no official declaration by the United Nations.
Death and escape
On the humanitarian side, UN agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan as deaths and injuries continue, hospitals are disrupted and people flow to neighboring countries to escape death.
The Sudanese Medical Syndicate announced that all hospitals and health facilities in the city of El Geneina are still suspended.
It said the number of civilian deaths since the beginning of the clashes stood at 436, while the number of injured was 2175,<>.
Reuters quoted a U.N. official as saying 73,<> people had arrived from Sudan to neighbouring countries so far.
The U.N. assistant commissioner for refugees said more than 800,<> people could be fleeing Sudan.
Meanwhile, the evacuation of foreign nationals from Sudan continues, amid calls for both sides in the fighting to abide by the new truce.
The emergency room in Port Sudan announced the departure of 9170,<> people from different countries evacuated through the port of Port Sudan so far.
It added that the health situation of foreign nationals and Sudanese awaiting evacuation is stable and there are no injuries among them.