Violent clashes resumed on Wednesday between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in several areas of the capital Khartoum, after the army announced the suspension of its participation in the Jeddah negotiations.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that neighborhoods south of Khartoum are witnessing heavy shelling and clashes, and others said that heavy artillery sounds resounded in the north of the city of Omdurman, west of the capital.

According to witnesses, continuous explosions are heard in the Karari area of Omdurman.

The Sudanese army also closed the Fatihab Bridge on the White Nile, which connects Khartoum and Omdurman from the Omdurman city side, witnesses said.

In the context, the Sudanese army said in a brief statement on Wednesday that its forces repelled a desperate attack on the city of El-Obeid in the state of North Kordofan (south), and inflicted what it called the Rapid Support Militia heavy losses.

Suspension of negotiations

Meanwhile, a Sudanese diplomatic source told Al Jazeera that the army had suspended its participation in the Jeddah negotiations.

The source pointed out that the suspension of participation comes in protest against the attacks of the Rapid Support Forces on army positions in the capital and the states.

The US-Saudi mediation announced that more than one truce agreement had been reached between the two parties to the conflict in Sudan based on negotiations held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and these agreements were repeatedly violated.

AFP also quoted a Sudanese government official (who asked not to be identified) as saying that the army made the decision "because the rebels (Rapid Support Forces) did not implement the clause regarding their withdrawal from hospitals and citizens' homes, and their continuous violation of the truce".

In the first response to the decision, a source in the Rapid Support Forces said in a press statement that the army's suspension of its participation in the Jeddah negotiations is an attempt to thwart the Jeddah platform.


The source accused the Sudanese army of obstructing the negotiations by continuing to violate the humanitarian truce by attacking with air and heavy guns and moving troops from the states to Khartoum.

He explained that the army commander's reference to the use of lethal force that he launched while addressing his soldiers on Tuesday comes as part of the plan to suspend negotiations to use a military solution, as he put it.

On Monday evening, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced the agreement of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces to extend the ceasefire agreement signed between them for an additional 5 days.

The announcement coincided with the expiration of an announced agreement between the military and the rapid support for a short-term seven-day ceasefire and humanitarian arrangements under the auspices of Saudi Arabia.

The Jeddah talks began in early May and led to a declaration of commitment to the protection of civilians and two short ceasefire agreements that have been repeatedly violated.

Extended mechanism

Meanwhile, the expanded mechanism on the Sudanese crisis will hold its first meeting in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, in accordance with the decision of the African Peace and Security Council summit held last Saturday.


The meeting aims to develop the African Union's roadmap for the Sudanese crisis with the participation of international and regional partners.

A diplomatic source revealed to Al Jazeera that 21 countries will participate in the meeting, along with the African Union, IGAD, the Arab League, the European Union and the United Nations.

The expanded mechanism stresses the prevention of external interference in Sudanese affairs, facilitating the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to the Sudanese through air, land and sea corridors, as well as coordinating international actions and preventing any initiatives that reduce joint action.

The African road map includes the resumption of the political process to complete the political transition interrupted by the conflict.