came aunderstood (temporary) between factions in Sudan. The Sudanese army and the paramilitaries have declared themselves available for the temporary opening, lasting three or four hours, of humanitarian corridors requested by the UN, while reserving the right to return fire from the opposing side. The announcements were made by both sides on their social channels: «Le Sudanese Armed Forces accept the United Nations proposal to open safe routes for humanitarian cases for a period of three hours, starting at four in the afternoon, provided that this does not negate their right to retaliate against any excesses by rebel militias,” it reads in the post published on Facebook by the Office of the Official Spokesperson of the Sudanese Armed Forces. In the same tone, the announcement of Rapid Support Forces Sudanese who on Twitter let it be known that they have accepted the “UN request from now (4 pm local and Italian time) and for four hours”, write the RFS in a tweet, also adding that they “reserve the right to protect citizens and to respond to any attack by coup plotters and regime militias”. Despite the opening between the clashes in the country, a Khartoum “shots, artillery shelling and loud explosions” continue to be heard: this was reported by a witness who is in the capital. “They are shooting everywhere,” said the qualified source in contact with other people in the Sudanese city.
Meanwhile, the head of the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamatannounced that it “will go directly” to the country to push the factions involved in the clashes to “a ceasefire”: this is what a statement adopted today by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the same AU on the situation in Sudan, with the announcement of its own “mission in the field”. The PSC “asks – reads the note published on the African Union website – the President of the AU Commission to continue to use his good offices to engage with the parties in conflict in order to facilitate dialogue and the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan; and commends his commitment to travel to Sudan immediately to commit the sides to a ceasefire.” And then again: «The Peace and Security Council also decides that this Council will undertake a field mission to Sudan in order to engage with all Sudanese stakeholders on the situation in the country». Among other things, the council stated that the AU “asks for both sides to respect an immediate ceasefire without conditions, in the supreme interest of Sudan and its people, to protect civilians, especially women and children, and to provide humanitarian support to civilians affected by the conflict”.
The second day of clashes
Clashes continue in the capital of Sudan for the second consecutive day: according to an initial assessment by the Central Committee of Sudanese doctors, there were at least 25 dead and 302 wounded in the capital, a number that rises to 56 dead and almost 600 wounded in the country both among civilians and the military. Against the background of the heavy clashes is the political rivalry that has been going on for several months between the two generals at the top of the Sovereign Council that currently leads the country, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan and the pro-Russian Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, protagonists of the coup d’état of 2021. The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RFS) seek to seize power and oust the army in a showdown made up of incursions, shootings, air raids, armored mobilizations and conflicting announcements in several Sudanese cities .
Today, Sunday 16 April, the firefights continue in the northern and southern suburbs of the capital. To stem the violence and figure out how to mediate between the parties, the Arab League will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo, at the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. But the conflict has now been going on, in various forms, for weeks, thus preventing a peaceful and political solution in a country which, since 2019, has been trying to organize the first free elections after 30 years of Islamic-military dictatorship. In Cairo, airport sources report the closure of Sudanese airspace. The paramilitary leader would also have asked al Burhan to surrender: “He is under siege, we have no contact with him but he must surrender.”
The consequences of the war in Ukraine
To indicate a link between what is happening in Sudan and the war in Ukraine, in an interview with Qn, is the Comboni priest Giulio Albanese. «The West wants there to be a transition towards democracy but there are many interests», he explains, «Hemeti Dagalo is pro-Russian, a close friend of Lavrov. Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine he visited Moscow. Lavrov recently returned the homage. And for some time the mercenaries of the Wagner group have established themselves in the country, whereas before military relations were limited to arms supplies».
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