Here is the situation on Thursday, April 27, 2023:
Fighting
- Sudan’s army and a paramilitary force battled on the outskirts of the capital, Khartoum, undermining a truce, but the army expressed a willingness to extend the ceasefire.
- The army leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, gave initial approval to extend the truce for another 72 hours and sent an envoy to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, for talks.
- Some of the worst battles were in Omdurman, a city adjoining Khartoum, where the army is fighting Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reinforcements from other regions of Sudan. Heavy gunfire and air strikes could be heard.
Civilians
- The World Health Organization said only 16 percent of health facilities are functioning in Khartoum and predicted “many more deaths” because of disease and shortages of food, water and medical services, including immunizations.
- An estimated 50,000 acutely malnourished children have had their treatment disrupted. The hospitals still functioning are facing shortages of medical supplies, power and water.
- The crisis has sent growing numbers of refugees across Sudan’s borders. The UN refugee agency estimated that 270,000 people could flee to South Sudan and Chad alone.
- Foreigners evacuated from Khartoum have described bodies littering streets, buildings on fire, residential areas turned into battlefields and youths roaming around with large knives.
- The fighting has killed at least 512 people and wounded more than 4,000, according to Sudan’s health ministry, and reduced some districts of greater Khartoum to ruins.
Diplomacy
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat discussed working together to create a sustainable end to the fighting. The White House also said a second American had died in Sudan.
- The presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti worked on a proposal that includes extending the truce and conducting talks between the two forces.
- China has deployed its navy to rescue citizens from Sudan.
- An Indonesian military plane flew 110 Indonesian nationals from Port Sudan to the Saudi city of Jeddah.
- Canada will deploy about 200 troops to coordinate evacuations. About 180 Canadians have already rescued.
