MORE AIR STRIKES IN SUDAN AS CEASEFIRE EXPIRY LOOMS

Thu 27 Apr 2023:

The Sudanese army has pounded RSF fighters with air raids in the capital, Khartoum, while deadly fighting has flared in Darfur.

Columns of smoke rose near the presidential palace in Khartoum and areas north of the capital as aircraft flew sorties.

Battles continued despite a three-day, US-brokered ceasefire that took effect early on Tuesday. Aircraft patrolled the skies over the capital’s northern suburbs, and fighters on the ground exchanged artillery and small-arms fire.

MSF makes delivery of medical supplies during lull in fighting

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) says it has been able to deliver medical supplies to a hospital in Khartoum, following days of fighting that has put many humanitarian groups on the ground in a gridlock.

“During a lull in the fighting, MSF was able to make a donation of medical supplies to a health facility in Khartoum on Sunday 23 April,” Ghazali Babiker, the organisation’s country director for Sudan, said in a statement.

Still, deliveries to other hospitals and medical facilities are “impossible” due to continued fighting, the organisation said, as many of its staff also leave the country or relocate to safer locations.

MSF has been able to treat 404 people in El Fasher, in the Darfur region, and is now assessing how it can treat people in Madani, southwest of Khartoum, where thousands have fled to.

The organisation said it was also supporting facilities and continuing to treat patients in other states. It reiterated its call for the safe passage of medical authorities within Sudan.

“Experienced MSF emergency teams stand ready to enter Sudan as soon as they are able to support the scale-up of our activities. Other teams are currently preparing and identifying the best ways to send medical and humanitarian supplies to the country,” said Kate Nolan, the organisation’s deputy director of operations.

‘Desperate situation’ in refugee camps in eastern Chad

Thousands of civilians, mostly women and children from Sudan’s western region of Darfur, are streaming into Chad’s eastern provinces, creatig a growing refugee crisis.

“The situation is this camp is desperate,” said Mohammed Idris, reporting from the village of Koufroune in Ouaddai province. “There are no structures, no tents and some of them are living under trees. A lot of people say they have not eaten for the past two days.”

UN agencies, along with local partners, have started distributing food and basic items, but as thousands more refugees are expected to make their way into Chad, it is not clear if there will be enough support.

“The World Food Programme told Al Jazeera they have deployed food that will cater to 20,000 people, but they are expecting up to 200,000 crossing into this part of Chad, meaning that the UN needs to step up its aid,” Idris said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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