Truce collapses in Sudan, air strikes and fighting resume in Khartoum

Khartoum: The truce between fighting parties in Sudan collapsed and air strikes have intensified. The latest truce was to allow civilians to flee and it was, at first, supposed to end at Sunday midnight but had been extended for another three days.

The army, one of the two parties fighting for power, said that it is attacking the city to flush out its paramilitary rivals - Rapid Response Forces (RSF), reported BBC.

Army commander Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo agreed on a humanitarian truce after neighbouring countries, the US, the UK, and the UN carried out intense diplomatic efforts. But it did not hold after the extension.

Millions of people are still trapped in the capital city of Khartoum and they are running low on resources including food. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the first major aid flight with medical supplies has arrived in Sudan. It has eight tonnes of relief supplies including health kits for hospitals. Since the fighting started on April 15, over 70% of healthcare facilities in the capital have been forced to close.

"With hostilities still ongoing, ICRC teams will need guarantees of safe passage from the parties to the conflict to deliver this material to medical facilities in locations with active fighting, such as Khartoum," said ICRC.

Over 500 people have been killed in the violence until now.