Ceasefire in Sudan only holds sporadically

Khartoum. Despite a new ceasefire, fighting has broken out again in the crisis-ridden country of Sudan. Eyewitnesses reported that the capital Khartoum in particular was again under heavy shelling. A second 72-hour ceasefire had come into effect earlier that night.

A Turkish C-130 transport aircraft was fired on with light weapons in the morning. As the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter, the machine was on its way to the Wadi Seidna military airport in northern Khartoum to evacuate Turkish citizens. The plane landed safely despite the shelling. There are no injuries, the plane is being checked for damage.

Prisoners escaped from several prisons

The UN human rights office fears additional violence in Sudan because possible war criminals could have been released from prisons. In the past few days, prisoners have been broken out of or released from several prisons, a spokeswoman said on Friday in Geneva. That could reignite ethnic tensions that have existed in Sudan for a long time. There have already been clashes among communities in the West Darfur region. According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 96 people have died there since April 24.

At least 113 aid workers were flown from neighboring North Darfur to neighboring Chad, the region’s governor, Nimir Mohamed Abdel Rahman, told the German Press Agency on Friday. Among others, employees of the World Food Program, Unicef, the UN mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the Norwegian refugee agency were evacuated.

At least 512 dead, nearly 4,200 injured

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 512 people were killed and almost 4,200 injured in the fighting in Sudan. The true number of victims is likely to be significantly higher.

The first 72-hour ceasefire expired on Thursday evening. This also only lasted sporadically. Nevertheless, thousands of civilians were able to flee to neighboring countries during this period. Several countries evacuated their nationals and other people from the crisis country. However, on Thursday the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF first agreed to negotiations in Juba, the capital of neighboring South Sudan.

Bundeswehr returned from mission in Sudan

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock received almost 400 members of the Bundeswehr after the rescue operation in the embattled Sudan. The servicewomen and men, mostly paratroopers, flew from Jordan to Wunstorf near Hanover in four A400M aircraft. Before landing, Pistorius said the mission had gone well. This shows “that the troops are there when you need them,” said the SPD politician.

According to Baerbock, there are now only “a very, very small number” of Germans in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. For these there is a chance of being flown out by other nations if they want to leave the country, said the Greens politician.