DUBAI/CAIRO: Khartoum was calmer on Saturday morning as a seven-day cease-fire appeared to reduce fighting between two rival military factions although it has not yet provided the promised humanitarian relief to millions trapped in the capital.
A truce signed on Monday by the two fighting parties — Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces — aimed to secure safe passage for humanitarian aid and lead to wider talks sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, witnesses said that Khartoum was calmer, although sporadic clashes were reported overnight. Gulf broadcaster Al-Arabiya reported some clashes in northwestern Khartoum and southern Omdurman, a city neighboring the capital.
In a statement on Saturday, the RSF accused the army of violating the cease-fire and destroying the country’s mint in an air strike. The army had accused the RSF on Friday of targeting the mint.
The army said meanwhile that its call on Friday for army reservists was a partial mobilization and constitutional measure, adding the army expected large numbers to respond to the call.
The conflict, which erupted on April 15, has killed at least 730 civilians and caused 1.3 million Sudanese to leave their homes, fleeting either abroad or to safer parts of the country.
Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. Looters have ransacked homes, mostly in well-off neighborhoods.
On Saturday, Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help.
“Our neighborhood has become a war zone. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum,” said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city.
“No one is bothered to help the Sudanese people, neither the government nor internationally. We are humans, where is the humanity?” he added.
Aid agencies say that despite the truce they have struggled to get the bureaucratic and security guarantees to transport aid and staff in safer parts of the country to Khartoum and other hot zones. Warehouses have been looted.
Fighting has also expanded into the fragile Darfur region, most impacting the western city of El Geneina, which has seen an onslaught of militia attacks that have destroyed its infrastructure and killed hundreds.
The governmental Combating Violence Against Women and Children Unit said late on Friday it had received reports of 25 cases of rape of women and girls in Darfur and 24 reports of rape in Khartoum since the conflict erupted.
It said that victims had described 43 of the men as wearing RSF uniforms and either riding vehicles with RSF licenses or located in RSF-controlled areas.
“The unit expresses its grave concern over reports of gang rape, kidnapping ... and reports of women and girls facing sexual assault as they go out to seek food,” it said.
The RSF has denied reports that its soldiers are engaged in sexual assaults or looting.
Reuters could not independently verify the unit’s allegations.
Truce reduces fighting in Sudan, but little relief for humanitarian crisis
https://arab.news/2apeq
Truce reduces fighting in Sudan, but little relief for humanitarian crisis
- Khartoum calmer on Saturday morning as ceasefire appears to be holding up
Israel police to deploy around Al-Aqsa for Ramadan, Palestinians report curbs
- The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Monday that they would deploy in force around the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins this week, as Palestinian officials accused Israel of imposing restrictions at the compound.
Over the course of the month of fasting and prayer, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa — Islam’s third-holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed.
Arad Braverman, a senior Jerusalem police officer, said forces would be deployed “day and night” across the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and in the surrounding area.
He said thousands of police would also be on duty for Friday prayers, which draw the largest crowds of Muslim worshippers.
Braverman said police had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.
He did not say whether age limits would apply, adding that the final number of people would be decided by the government.
The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said in a separate statement it had been informed that permits would again be restricted to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year’s criteria.
It said Israeli authorities had blocked the Islamic Waqf — the Jordanian?run body administering the site — from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.
A Waqf source confirmed the restrictions and said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week before Ramadan.
The Al-Aqsa compound is a central symbol of Palestinian identity and also a frequent flashpoint.
Under long?standing arrangements, Jews may visit the compound — which they revere as the site of their second temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD — but they are not permitted to pray there.
Israel says it is committed to maintaining this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.
Braverman reiterated Monday that no changes were planned.
In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far?right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.
