24-hour Cease-fire In Sudan, Fighting Continues

Although the warring sides at the center of the conflict agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire for this Tuesday, fighting continues into its fourth day.

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Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agree to a one-day ceasefire as of 18:00 local time. The former Sudanese military intelligence director Mohamed Ajeeb said the truce is for "humanitarian work and not for a military reason," so he considers it unlikely that the army will allow an extension of the ceasefire. 

"We hear sounds of shelling from time to time," Al Jazeera correspondent Haitham Awit reported from the capital Khartoum. Calm is reported in areas away from the city center.

According to the correspondent, residents in the city center have not been able to move freely despite the apparent calm. Awit said that since the beginning of the truce "the humanitarian condition has not changed."

Locals also confirmed continued gunfire and shelling. "We can still hear the planes gliding overhead," said a Khartoum resident, decrying the harsh situation. "We have no water, no electricity, no gasoline."

Aid workers and humanitarian facilities continue to be targeted, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has denounced. The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the parties involved in the conflict to "ensure unrestricted and safe access to health facilities for the wounded and all those in need."

The Sudan Red Cross Society has also expressed concern over the situation in the North African country. "People do not have access to food and medicine," said Germain Mwehu, spokesman for the organization, noting also the lack of access to water and electricity.

According to the United Nations (UN), more than 185 people have been killed during the armed conflict, while more than 1 800 have been injured. The Sudanese Medical Union reported today that at least 144 civilians have lost their lives.