Sudanese fighter jets pound paramilitary positions in Khartoum despite the army and rival force agreeing to extend a ceasefire.

Fighting

• The Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend a ceasefire, but intense fighting erupted in several cities. It included air strikes and tank and artillery fire.
• Sudanese fighter jets pounded paramilitary positions in the capital, Khartoum, while battles and looting flared in the Darfur region.
• The army said it controls most of Sudan’s territory and is defeating a large RSF deployment in Khartoum, where residential areas have been turned into warzones.
• There have also been several jailbreaks, including from the high-security Kober Prison, where top aides of ousted leader Omar al-Bashir were held.

Civilians and casualties

• At least 512 people have been killed and close to 4,200 wounded since fighting began on April 15.
• The Darfur Bar Association, a rights group, said at least 52 people have died in attacks by well-armed militias on residential neighbourhoods in the city of El Geneina.
• The conflict has limited food distribution in a country where one-third of its 46 million people were already reliant on humanitarian aid before the latest fighting broke out. The World Food Programme said the violence could plunge millions more people into hunger.
• The Sudan Doctors Union said 60 of 86 hospitals in conflict zones had stopped operating.
• At least 20,000 people have escaped into Chad, 4,000 into South Sudan, 3,500 into Ethiopia and 3,000 into the Central African Republic, according to the United Nations, which has warned as many as 270,000 people could flee if the fighting continues.

Diplomacy

• Foreign representatives seeking to quell the fighting welcomed the extended ceasefire and urged its full implementation. Fighting has continued through previous truces.
• In a joint statement, the African Union, UN, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Britain and United States applauded the two sides’ “readiness to engage in dialogue toward establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access”.
• About 16,000 people have entered Egypt from Sudan, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens.
• Foreign governments have scrambled to get thousands of their citizens out, and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urged Britons to leave while they can.
• The White House also said it was deeply concerned by ceasefire violations. It said the situation could worsen at any moment and urged US citizens to leave within 24 to 48 hours.