Clashes resumed between the warring Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in Sudan's capital Khartoum on Friday, following the suspension of negotiations.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency (AA) that heavy clashes broke out in the city of Omdurman, west of Khartoum.
The military aircraft strikes and artillery bombardment continued in the area south of Khartoum as well, according to witnesses.
Clashes are still taking place in the vicinity of the Tiba camp, the largest RSF headquarters, south of the Sudanese capital, they added.
A seven-day cease-fire brokered by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. between the two sides expired on Monday. The conflicting rivals agreed to extend the agreement for five more days, but peace talks broke down Wednesday when the SAF announced its withdrawal, claiming the RSF failed to implement "any of the terms of the agreement and continued violation of the cease-fire."
The decision came as fierce clashes erupted between the military and RSF fighters in the national capital of Khartoum and El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
The U.S. announced on Thursday an initial wave of sanctions targeting actors in Sudan after talks between the Sudanese military and a rival paramilitary force collapsed.
The recent violence in Sudan has left at least 863 civilians dead and thousands injured since April 15, the Sudan Doctors Syndicate said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that the conflict has internally displaced more than a million people.
A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF over the paramilitary group's integration into the armed forces, a critical condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.
Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."
Sudan's transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.
