The Sudanese paramilitary group battling the army for control of the North African nation ruled out a cease-fire as diplomats struggled to halt fighting that threaten to erupt into a full-blown civil war.
Clashes resumed at dawn in the capital, Khartoum, on Monday and continued throughout the day, with some of the most intense violence around the main international airport and army headquarters, along with the neighboring city of Omdurman. Hospitals in the capital were hit by heavy artillery, doctors and labor unions said, as the civilian death toll climbed to at least 97.
Representatives from the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., U.S. 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 — made calls to both parties to halt the hostilities, said Western diplomats who asked not to be identified. African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat is preparing to travel to Sudan to try and negotiate a cease-fire, the continental body said in a statement.
