Sudan: fierce clashes continue in Khartoum despite calls for Eid ceasefire

As the forces of two rival generals fought intense street battles in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Friday (21 April), ignoring appeals for an end-of-Ramadan Eid ceasefire, the United States is reportedly preparing to send additional troops to its base in nearby Djibouti in case an evacuation of Americans from Sudan is needed.

On the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr on Friday, the fiercest battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued to be around Khartoum, as both sides shot at each other in residential areas of the north, west and center of the city. The latest violence between Sudan’s military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and paramilitary leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, was triggered by disagreement over an internationally backed plan to form a new civilian government. Both sides have also ignored the calls by UN chief Antonio Guterres and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a ceasefire of “at least” three days to mark Eid.

Meanwhile, the US will be sending a large number of additional troops to its military base in Djibouti in case the deteriorating security situation in Sudan requires an emergency evacuation of American citizens. “We are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US embassy personnel from Sudan, if circumstances require it,” the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday (20 April). President Joe Biden has ordered the pre-positioning of military forces to be ready, White House spokesperson John Kirby said, adding Biden was closely following developments.