By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Gunfire, explosions and overhead fighter jets were heard across Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Tuesday, amid conflicting reports of an agreed ceasefire in the country.
Attempts at a truce crumbled late on Tuesday as clashes re-erupted between both factions in central Khartoum, just hours after they agreed on a 24-hour ceasefire, which went into effect at 6 p.m. local time, according to witnesses.
At least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 injured in the unrest, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) officials citing Sudan’s Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Center.
Former president Thabo Mbeki has called for an urgent ceasefire in Sudan and an immediate return to negotiations that will usher in a civilian government.
In a statement issued through the Thabo Mbeki Foundation on Tuesday, he said only those two measures “will address the current expectations of the long-suffering people of Sudan”.
Mbeki has in the past worked with the people of Sudan, particularly as the chairperson of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP).
He engaged former president Omar al Bashir on several occasions.
Al Bashir was later overthrown during the army and civilian-supported coup of 2019.
As AUHIP chairperson, Mbeki pushed for the cessation of hostilities and a ceasefire in Sudan’s fractured socio-political fabric.
The country now finds itself in a similar situation.
Mbeki’s observations and comments will carry added weight as many of the problems he encountered remain to this day.
In that regard, Mbeki said the ongoing fighting would further affect the chances of a civilian-led solution to the country’s legacy of problems that span from the socio-economic to political sphere.
Meanwhile Durban woman teaching in Khartoum says they are in constant fear as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces continues around them.
Twenty-seven-year-old Danielle Boyle is living with two other South African teachers.
She says they’ve had no lights or water for the past few days.
“It is very bad. The whole morning it’s been going on. Sometimes it’s quite, then it goes loud again and the Embassy are closed we just have to wait it out.”
Boyle says the clashes started on Saturday morning, but at the time, they didn’t think much of it until they checked the news.
“So far, what we can see from our apartment is just a whole lot of black smoke and on the news, we see the fighter jets, we hear the fighter jets from our apartments because we are 10 minutes from the airport.
“The fight night we didn’t get much sleep because it just kept going on and on. Myself and both my roommates are very scared but we are keeping faith that this will all end and we are able to come home soon.”
Boyle says her boss has told her once things have died down, they’ll be the first ones out.
The Department of International Relations says consular assistance is difficult to provide at the moment as most embassies are closed. It’s advising relatives to urge expats in Khartoum to stay indoors.