Violent clashes continue between warring parties in Khartoum

Khartoum, June 23 (IANS) Violent clashes between the warring Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have continued in various areas of the capital Khartoum.

The clashes mainly took place in eastern Khartoum, north of Bahri (Khartoum North) city, and west of Omdurman city, according to witnesses and resistance committees.

"The clashes renewed today in the vicinity of the Burri neighbourhood, with warplanes flying over the area," Xinhua news agency quoted resistance committees of the neighborhood in Khartoum as saying in a statement on Thursday.

"Cannon shells fell on several parts of Burri, and residential buildings were affected. No deaths or injuries are reported so far," the statement added.

Witnesses said the Sudanese army's warplanes flew over the southern area of Omdurman, with intermittent clashes occurring in old neighborhoods of the city.

Violent clashes also took place in the Al-Kadaro camp in Bahri, a major camp of the army, with explosions heard there, the witnesses added.

Also on Thursday, Malik Agar, the deputy chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council, declared the Sovereign Council's rejection of the initiative proposed by the African Union to resolve the Sudanese crisis, citing the suspension of Sudan's membership in the bloc.

Agar also expressed reservations about the recent initiative from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), saying IGAD was seeking to introduce the United Nations forces into Sudan and demilitarize Khartoum through its "occupation initiative",

As the fighting continued, residents of Bahri were suffering from continued water shortage while those in southern Khartoum were facing food scarcity.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its report issued on Monday that the current crisis has worsened the already dire food insecurity in Sudan, with more people possibly plunged into famine.

To scale up its response, the FAO urgently appealed for funding amounting to 95.4 million U.S. dollars to reach 15 million people in need, according to the report.

About 2.5 million people have been displaced inside and outside of Sudan since the conflict broke out on April 15, according to an update of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

So far, the conflicts have left over 3,000 people dead and more than 6,000 injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.