Sudan.. Heavy weapons clashes in Khartoum, shocking UN assessments of humanitarian situation

An explosion rocked the center of the capital Khartoum on Thursday morning and plumes of smoke rose at the scene, local Sudanese sources said, at a time when the United Nations estimated that more than half of Sudan's population is in need of humanitarian aid.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in southern Khartoum monitored clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces with heavy weapons on the road leading to White Nile state.

Sources told Al Jazeera that the city of El Fasher, the center of the Darfur region and the capital of North Darfur state, witnessed a heavy exchange of fire between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army, in which various weapons were used. According to the source, the two forces were firing from their positions in the city and did not deploy to any new locations.

For its part, the Sudanese Doctors Committee announced that the death toll in the clashes had risen to 833 dead and the injured to more than 3300,<>.

Since April 15, Sudan has been witnessing clashes between the army led by the head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces led by the council's vice president, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).

Humanitarian situation

Meanwhile, the United Nations has estimated the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan at 25 million, and the amount of emergency aid needed for the country and for those fleeing war to neighboring countries – whose number is expected to exceed one million this year – is estimated at about $3 billion.

"Today, 25 million people – more than half of Sudan's population – are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection," Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, told reporters, adding that this number was "the highest" in need of humanitarian assistance ever recorded by the UN agency in that country.

The United Nations expects it to need $2.56 billion to provide aid inside Sudan, up from $1.75 billion estimated at the end of last year.

The funds will allow aid agencies to reach the 18 million people considered most vulnerable within the country, according to Rajasingham.

Rajasingham lamented that humanitarian workers had been attacked several times, including deaths, while offices and stockpiles were looted, and hoped the warring sides would abide by the humanitarian rules they reached last week on evacuating civilians from combat zones and providing safe corridors for the transport of humanitarian aid.

Mediation efforts

On the diplomatic front, the Sudanese sides are still in talks on a "humanitarian" ceasefire to allow civilians to leave and allow aid to enter.

WFP Regional Director for East Africa Michael Dunford stressed "the need for humanitarian workers to be given access and given resources and security guarantees to effectively support those who depend on them."

On the other hand, in the Saudi city of Jeddah, which will host an Arab summit on Friday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan discussed with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit the issue of the conflict in Sudan, and the three of them expressed their support for a ceasefire, but without proposing any broad outlines for it.

In Africa, Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekun held a telephone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in which they discussed the Sudan crisis and the Saudi-American efforts that resulted in the Jeddah Agreement.

The Ethiopian Foreign Minister welcomed the role of Saudi Arabia and the United States in signing the Jeddah Agreement, reiterating his country's support for a peaceful solution.