The Sudanese capital Khartoum on Thursday witnessed artillery shelling between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in several locations amid heavy overflights of army planes, while the President of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, issued a decision assigning members of the Council to supervise ministries and bodies.
Burhan assigned his deputy, Malik Aqar, to oversee a number of ministries, including energy, oil, education, culture, media, social development, health and higher education.
Sovereign Council member Shams al-Din Kabbashi was tasked with overseeing the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, justice, irrigation, water resources and the presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Al-Burhan also assigned Sovereignty Council member Yasser al-Atta with the affairs of the ministries of defense and finance, the Central Bank of Sudan, the Attorney General, and the National Auditor.
Council member Ibrahim Jaber will oversee the ministries of agriculture, livestock, trade and industry, investment, international cooperation, communications and transport.
On the ground, local sources told Al Jazeera that the army and the Rapid Support Forces exchanged artillery shelling since Thursday morning, targeting the positions of the two sides in the capital, Khartoum.
The sources reported that successive explosions were heard in the center of Khartoum, and heavy overflights of army planes east of the capital.
The sources pointed out that the Rapid Support Forces shelled with artillery Sudanese army positions, at the Jabal Awliya area, south of Khartoum.
In the city of Omdurman, Al Jazeera correspondent said that the warring parties exchanged artillery shelling in the area separating them, in the center and east of the city.
'catastrophic' humanitarian situation
On the humanitarian front, Alain Ouattara, deputy head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, warned in an interview with Al Jazeera that more than 6 million Sudanese are one step away from famine.
Awtara described the overall situation in Sudan as catastrophic, noting that hundreds of children there are at risk of losing their lives due to the lack of vaccines.
The United Nations said last week that more than 1200,<> children had died of suspected measles and malnutrition in camps for displaced people in White Nile state, while cholera, dengue fever and malaria pose a threat across the country.
Since mid-April, fighting has been taking place between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, with more than 5,5 people dead and more than <> million displaced and refugees, both inside and outside one of the world's poorest countries, according to the United Nations.