Hospitals have been shelled in Sudan as fighting between rival armed factions continues for a third day, doctors say.
Patients in the capital, Khartoum, have appealed for safe passage as gun battles rage in the city.
Violence between the army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left around 100 people dead, a doctors’ union said.
Both sides claimed to control key sites in Khartoum, where residents sheltered from explosions.
The Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union says there has been severe damage to al-Shab Teaching Hospital in Khartoum, along with two other hospitals, caused by clashes and “mutual shelling”.
It called the attacks a violation of international law.
The two sides held a brief ceasefire on Sunday to allow the wounded to be evacuated, although it was not clear how strictly they stuck to it.
On Monday, clouds of smoke were visible above Khartoum’s main airport, with TV showing images of fires and explosions. Army air strikes targeted RSF bases, some of which are embedded in residential areas.
The fighting is between army units loyal to the de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, a notorious paramilitary force commanded by Sudan’s deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.
He said on Monday that the international community must intervene, and branded Gen Burhan “a radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air”. Gen Burhan has said he is willing to negotiate.
Alarmed neighbours Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti are planning to send their presidents to help mediate in the crisis, however this is not currently possible because the airport is closed.
The US, EU and UK have called for an immediate end to the fighting.
There has been fierce fighting around the country’s seat of power, the Republican Palace. The army says it remains in control of all its bases, including its Khartoum headquarters, where heavy weapons have been used during intense clashes.
The sound of gunfire and explosions has hardly stopped since Saturday morning. One estimate put the number of injured at 1,100.
Beyond the capital, the army says it is in control of eastern parts of the country and the key Red Sea port of Port Sudan. But fighting is continuing in Darfur, where the RSF is strong, and also in Kordofan in the south.__Courtesy BBC.com
