Sudan fighting intensifies despite US sanctions

KHARTOUM: Shelling rocked greater Khartoum on Friday, as fighting between Sudan´s warring generals intensified despite US sanctions imposed after the collapse of a US- and Saudi-brokered truce.Witnesses reported artillery fire around the state television building in the capital´s sister city of Omdurman, just across the Nile. For nearly seven weeks, deadly fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has gripped Khartoum and the western region of Darfur despite repeated efforts to broker a humanitarian ceasefire.

The army announced it had brought reinforcements to the capital from other parts of Sudan to participate in “operations in the Khartoum area”. Sudan analyst Kholood Khair said the army was “expected to launch a massive offensive” to clear the paramilitaries from the streets of Khartoum. Washington slapped sanctions on the warring parties on Thursday, holding them both responsible for provoking “appalling” bloodshed.