Sudan Violence Escalates And Death Toll Mounts As Warring Factions Reject Calls For A Ceasefire

Rival government factions in Sudan have rejected calls for a ceasefire and intensified their battle for control of the vast and strategically important country as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict gather momentum

- Zeinab Mohammed Salih, Jason Burke, Pippa Crerar

At least 97 people have been killed and many hundreds wounded in fighting since Saturday, when violence erupted between army units loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's transitional governing sovereign council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is the deputy head of the council.

Burhan raised the stakes in the violence yesterday, ordering the dissolution of the RSF, which he called a "rebellious group". For his part, Dagalo called Burhan "a radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air".

Fighting in Khartoum has centred on key sites such as the international airport, presidential palace and the army headquarters, where Burhan is thought to be based.

Military jets flew low over the capital through much of yesterday as repeated bouts of firing and shelling continued there and in Omdurman, Khartoum's sister city across the Nile. Witnesses reported seeing dozens of bodies in one central neighbourhood of the capital, and hundreds of students remain trapped in schools.

Hospitals have been particularly affected, with essential supplies badly disrupted by the fighting. Hundreds of patients have been evacuated, while medical staff work to move others from intensive care or dialysis units to places of safety.