Gunfire and explosions rocked the Sudanese capital for a third day as diplomats intensified efforts to stop clashes between the army and a paramilitary group from escalating into a full-blown civil war.
The head of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, prepared to travel to Khartoum to try and negotiate an end to fighting that has reached “a dangerous level,” the continental body said in a statement. The violence has left at least 97 civilians dead, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, a pro-democracy medical group.
Representatives from the United Arab Emirates, the UK, US and Saudi Arabia — a group known as the quad that tried to restore elements of civilian rule after a 2021 coup in the North African country — were also scrambling to stop the clashes by making calls to both parties, said western diplomats who asked not to be identified.
