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[1/6] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on, as he attends a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 8, 2023. "And we’re also collaborating with countries in the region to widen and deepen the normalisation of relations with Israel." Saudi Arabia went the other way in April in restoring ties with Iran, its key regional rival and Israel's arch-enemy, in a Chinese-brokered deal. Other rows have simmered over the Saudi intervention in Yemen's devastating conflict, China ties and oil prices. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC states say the organisation is not politicised and only seeks to stabilise energy markets.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Faisal Bin Farhan, Ahmed Yosri, Jake Sullivan, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Karim Benzema, Blinken, we’re, Aziz Alghashian, Joe Biden's, Alghashian, Biden, Jamal Khashoggi, Blinken's, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Vladimir Putin, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Humeyra Pamuk, Maha El, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Saudi Foreign, Intercontinental, REUTERS, U.S, Saudi, White House, Crown, Gulf Cooperation Council, Al, Blinken, MbS, GCC, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Israel RIYADH, U.S, Iran, Washington's, Al, French, Jeddah, Al Ittihad, Yemen, Sudan, Israel, East, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Gulf, Israeli, Russia, China, Istanbul, OPEC, Ukraine

[1/5] Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia June 7, 2023. Amer Hilabi/Pool via REUTERSJEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had an "open, candid" conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the early hours of Wednesday about a wide range of bilateral issues, a U.S. official said. Blinken and the crown prince, known as MbS, met for an hour and forty minutes, a U.S. official said, covering topics including Israel, the conflict in Yemen, unrest in Sudan as well as human rights. In April, Saudi Arabia restored ties with Iran, a regional rival and Israel's arch-foe. MbS and Blinken also discussed Yemen and potential ways to resolve remaining issues, while Blinken thanked the crown prince for the kingdom's role in pushing for a ceasefire in Sudan and helping evacuate U.S. citizens.

Persons: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Antony Blinken, Amer Hilabi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prince Mohammed, Blinken's, Donald Trump, Jonathan Fulton, Fulton, Blinken, Humeyra Pamuk, Aziz El Yaakoubi, El, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Mark Potter Organizations: Saudi Arabia's Crown, REUTERS, Saudi Crown, U.S, MbS, United, New York Times, Saudi, However U.S, Atlantic Council, Washington, ., normalising Saudi, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, REUTERS JEDDAH, Iran, Washington, Riyadh, United States, Arabia, OPEC, Israel, Yemen, Sudan, East, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, However, China, Arab, Beijing, Saudi

☆ Massive fire as Sudanese factions battle for control of arms factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the eighth week of a power struggle with the army, attacked the Yarmouk complex on Tuesday, witnesses said. Due to the proximity of fuel and gas depots, "any explosion could destroy residents and the whole area", he said. Residents in Omdurman and Bahri reported towering flames were visible after nightfall at Yarmouk as clashes continued there. The RSF quickly seized swathes of the capital after war erupted in Khartoum on April 15. The army and RSF, which together staged a coup in 2021, fell out over the chain of command and military restructuring plans under the transition.

Persons: RSF, Nader Youssef, Omar al, Bashir, Bahri, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa, Aidan Lewis, Mark Heinrich, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Residents, Army, UNICEF, International Organization for Migration, United, Saudi TV, Al, United Arab Emirates, European Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Darfur KHARTOUM, Yarmouk, Bahri, Omdurman, Darfur, Khartoum's Mygoma, Sudan, El Geneina, West Darfur, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, United States, Al Arabiya

☆ A ‘Dystopian Nightmare’ Unfolds in Sudan’s Battered Darfur Region
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | Cora Engelbrecht | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The gunmen arrived at dawn on motorcycles, horses and in cars. For hours afterward, they fired into houses, rampaged through shops and razed clinics, witnesses said, in a frenzied attack that upended life in El Geneina, a city in the Darfur region of Sudan. Truce agreements have so far failed to end the brutal fighting that broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has decimated many areas of the capital, Khartoum. But the war between the military factions has also swept across the country to the long-suffering western region of Darfur — an area already blighted by two decades of genocidal violence.

Persons: Peace Organizations: Rapid Support Forces Locations: El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum

☆ Saudi Arabia needs more than higher oil prices to fund its grand plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Eoin Mcsweeney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN —Saudi Arabia surprised traders again on Sunday with an oil production cut of about 1 million barrels a day, roughly 1% of global supply, which sent oil prices climbing. But Saudi Arabia knows that it cannot rely solely on a fluctuating oil market for income. Saudi Arabia targets $100 billion in annual foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2030. “We think about where most of the tourism development for Saudi Arabia, it’s along the Red Sea coast. Alongside China’s slowing economy and a sluggish oil market, there are fears for a potential global recession, with Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine adding uncertainty to the market.

Persons: Amena Bakr, “ There’s, ”, Karen Young, Investment Khalid Al, Falih, CNN’s Becky Anderson, “, ’, ” Falih, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman, Young, Bakr Organizations: UAE CNN —, Brent, Saudi, Organization of, Petroleum, Energy Intel, Monetary Fund, Columbia University Center, Global Energy, Forbes, Saudi Central Bank, ”, Investment, Gulf Cooperation, Investors, CNN, EU Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, UAE CNN — Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, Saudi, “, Riyadh Monday, Gulf, Dubai, Turkey, Qatar, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Red, China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Europe, United States, Ukraine

☆ Shelling, looting in Sudan's capital as military factions battle for eighth week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Late on Sunday, residents reported intense fighting across the three cities that make up the nation's wider capital - Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri - and smoke could be seen rising from several areas early on Monday. In Khartoum East district, RSF troops who have spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital were in full control and were looting extensively, said Waleed Adam, a resident of the area. Residents have also reported widespread looting and insecurity in the area. There was no immediate comment from the army, which had denied on Sunday that the RSF had taken the town. In El Obeid, a city 360 km (220 miles) southwest of Khartoum and on a key route from the capital to Darfur, residents reported large deployments of RSF forces and the closure of some roads.

Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Mohamed Saleh, Waleed Adam, El, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Sriraj Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, U.S, Reuters, North Darfur State, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Sudan Khartoum, Darfur, DUBAI, Khartoum, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman, Bahri, Khartoum East district, DARFUR, Sudan's, Kutum, North Darfur, El Obeid, Dubai, Cairo

☆ Fighting escalates in Sudan's capital after ceasefire expires
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ceasefire between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had started on May 22 and expired on Saturday evening. Beyond the capital, deadly fighting has also broken out in Darfur in the far west of Sudan, already grappling with long-running unrest and huge humanitarian challenges. There was no comment from the army, which has been using war planes to target the RSF spread out across the capital. Fighting in the capital has led to widespread damage and looting, a collapse in health services, power and water cuts, and dwindling food supplies. Hemedti's whereabouts are unclear though he appeared in video footage with his troops in central Khartoum earlier in the fighting.

Persons: Sara Hassan, Witnesses, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Khalid Abdelaziz, Ahmed Tolba, Hatem Maher, Omar Abdel, Aidan Lewis, Frances Kerry, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Darfur Bar Association, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Saudi, U.S, DUBAI, Sudan's, North Darfur, Saudi Arabia, United States, Bahri, Omdurman, Jeddah, Dubai, Razek, Cairo

☆ Sudan fighters take over Khartoum museum, director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese paramilitary fighters have taken over the national museum in Khartoum, its deputy director said on Saturday, urging them to protect precious artefacts from the nation's heritage that include ancient mummies. Members of the Rapid Support Forces group that has been fighting the army since mid-April for control of Sudan entered the museum on Friday, said deputy director Ikhlas Abdellatif. Museum staff do not know the situation inside the museum because they halted work there after the conflict suddenly erupted on April 15, forcing police guarding the facility to quit, Abdellatif said. The RSF released a video filmed inside the museum grounds showing a soldier denying that they had done any harm to the museum or would do so, and inviting any individuals or organisations to visit the museum to check. The video also showed RSF fighters covering up exposed mummies with sheets and closing the plain white boxes in which they were contained.

Persons: Ikhlas Abdellatif, Abdellatif, Hatim Alnour, Roxanne Trioux, Omar al, Bashir, Abdel, Fattah, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemedti, Sami, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Angus McDowall, Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry Organizations: Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Museum, . Security, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, Khartoum, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, United States, Omdurman, Bahri, Washington, Riyadh, U.S, Dubai, Cairo

☆ UN Security Council urges Sudan factions to cease hostilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A screen grab shows black smoke and fire at Omdurman market in Omdurman, Sudan, May 15, 2023. VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS/Handout via REUTERSJune 2 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Friday called on warring factions in Sudan to cease hostilities, as fighting continued in the capital Khartoum after the collapse of talks to maintain a ceasefire and ease a humanitarian crisis. The council "emphasized the need for the parties to immediately cease hostilities, facilitate humanitarian access and establish a permanent ceasefire arrangement and to resume the process towards reaching a lasting, inclusive, and democratic political settlement in Sudan," the statement said. The council also agreed to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, but only for six months, the statement said. Reporting by Simon Lewis; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Robert Wood, Simon Lewis, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Handout, . Security, UN, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Omdurman, Sudan, Khartoum, New York

☆ US questions Sudan parties' commitment to truce as clashes continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. In El Obeid, a regional hub to the southwest of Khartoum that has seen clashes, the World Food Programme said food and assets were being looted. REGIONAL CLASHESOutside Khartoum, clashes have flared in major cities in the western region of Darfur. The calm Red Sea coast city Port Sudan has served as a base for the United Nations, aid groups, and diplomats as well as some government officials. "The army is carrying out strict security procedures in the city, in particular at night," said resident Salah Mohamed.

Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, El, Cindy McCain, Nadir Ahmed, Salah Mohamed, Khalid Abdelaziz, Tala, Nafisa Eltahir, Daphne Psaledakis, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, U.S, Food, U.S . State Department, UN, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, KHARTOUM, Washington, Khartoum, Saudi Arabia, United States, El Obeid, Saudi, Jeddah, U.S, Bahri, Omdurman, Thawra, Darfur, El, Zalingei, Port Sudan, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo

☆ US imposes sanctions on companies tied to Sudan forces as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. Sudan's army and the RSF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said late on Thursday they were suspending the talks, a day after Sudan's army announced it was halting its participation. They target Sudan's largest defence enterprise, Defence Industries System, which the Treasury said generates an estimated $2 billion in revenue and manufactures arms and other equipment for Sudan's army. The companies, all key to the business and procurement activities of both forces, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Nadir Ahmed, Joe Biden, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Antony Blinken, Omar al, Bashir, El, Cindy McCain, Cameron Hudson, Hudson, Khalid Abdelaziz, Tala, Nafisa Eltahir, Simon Lewis, Rami Ayyub, Daphne Psaledakis, Gladwys, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, Darfur Saudi, U.S . Treasury Department, Residents, U.S, Defence Industries System, Treasury, Technology, United Nations, Food, Army, Centre, Strategic, International Studies, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Jeddah, KHARTOUM, WASHINGTON, United States, U.S, Nile, Omdurman, Bahri, Thawra, Saudi Arabia, Washington, El, Zalingei, Port Sudan, El Obeid, Russia, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Oslo

☆ More than 100,000 flee to Chad from Sudan conflict, UNHCR says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, June 1 (Reuters) - More than 100,000 people have fled violence in Sudan to neighbouring Chad and the numbers could double in the next three months, the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday. The near seven-week conflict has pushed Sudan into a humanitarian crisis and turned one of Africa's greatest cities - the three-part capital of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri on the confluence on the Blue and White Niles - into a war zone. One of the poorest countries in the world, Chad was already hosting close to 600,000 refugees before conflict broke out in Sudan in April. UNHCR said it needs $214.1 million to provide vital services to displaced people in the country, which is currently 16% funded. Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: White Niles, Laura Lo Castro, Chad, Bhargav Acharya, Andrew Heavens Organizations: UNHCR, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Sudan, Chad, Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahri, UNHCR Chad

☆ Sudan's war scatters country's emergent art scene
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Adam Makary | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Abdullah is a member of a youthful art scene that gained momentum from the popular uprising against autocrat Omar al-Bashir and finds itself scattered by war four years later. "We've always been repressed, especially during Bashir's time," said 28-year-old Rahiem Shadad, who co-founded Downtown Gallery in Sudan's capital in 2019. Shadad's gallery has raised just over $8,500 of a $30,000 target to support artists financially during the war. Painter and retired art professor Salah Abdelhay fled to Egypt with his wife and two daughters. Reporting by Adam Makary and Fatma Fahmy Editing by Aidan Lewis and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rahiem Shadad, Omar al, Bashir, Yasmeen Abdullah, I'd, Abdullah, autocrat Omar al, We've, Shadad, Muhammed Yusuf, Yusuf, Khalid Abdelrahman, Painter, Salah Abdelhay, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Downtown, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Sudan, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Sudan's, Shendi, Omdurman, Wadi Halfa

☆ Sudan: Biden administration imposes sanctions and visa restrictions in response to ongoing violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Biden administration on Thursday imposed financial sanctions and visa restrictions in response to the ongoing violence in Sudan. The announcement of the sanctions comes a day after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced it was walking away from talks with the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following numerous ceasefire violations by both sides and as the conflict in Sudan – which has killed hundreds, injured thousands, and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe – continues. “It’s important, in our view, to hold people accountable and to recognize that until the calculus of both parties change they will continue to fight each other and destroy this country,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday. In addition to the financial sanctions, the US State Department imposed visa restrictions “on specific individuals in Sudan, including officials from the SAF, RSF, and leaders from the former Omar al-Bashir regime, responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The State Department did not specify who the individuals are.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, ”, Joe Biden, Omar al, Bashir, Antony Blinken, “, –, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan –, Al Junaid, Hemedti, Abdul Rahim Dagalo, Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: CNN, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Rapid Support Forces, US Treasury Department, US State Department, State Department, Treasury Department, Al, Co, Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo . Defense Industries, Technology, Defense Industries System, Department, Sudan “ Locations: Sudan, ”, Saudi, Jeddah, “, United States, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

☆ Sudanese army suspends ceasefire talks, diplomatic source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, May 31 (Reuters) - Sudan's army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and about enabling humanitarian access, a Sudanese diplomatic source said, raising fears of fresh bloodshed in the more than six-week-old conflict. Residents reported heavy clashes in southern Khartoum and in Omdurman across the River Nile until late on Tuesday. The RSF said in a statement late on Tuesday it was committed to the ceasefire "despite repeated violations" by the army. Before the ceasefire deal was renewed, an army source said the army had demanded the RSF withdraw from civilian homes and hospitals as a condition for an extension. After Bashir was toppled in an popular uprising, the army and RSF leaders staged a coup in 2021 before they due to hand leadership to civilians.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, RSF, Omar al, Bashir, Michael Georgy, Andrew Heavens, Edmund Blair Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Residents, United Nations, Thomson Locations: JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum, Omdurman, United States, Darfur, Sudan's, Port Sudan

☆ Sudanese army suspends ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The RSF said in a statement late on Tuesday it was committed to the ceasefire "despite repeated violations" by the army. CHALLENGING NEGOTIATIONSCommenting on the Sudanese army's withdrawal from the Jeddah talks, Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, African Union spokesperson on the crisis in Sudan, said: "It is not surprising. We hope the mediator will succeed to bring both parties for working on an expected ceasefire." Before the ceasefire deal was renewed, an army source said the army had demanded the RSF withdraw from civilian homes and hospitals as a condition for an extension. After the five-day extension was agreed, talks continued on the truce terms.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Hemedti's, Dagalo, Mohamed El Hacen, Hemedti, Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Dawit, Michael Georgy, Edmund Blair, Mark Heinrich, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Nations, REUTERS, Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, KHARTOUM, Saudi, Jeddah, Khartoum's Mogran, Omdurman, Bahri, Sudan, au, Saudi Arabia, United States, Darfur, Sudan's, Port Sudan, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Addis Ababa

☆ Podcast: Deep fakes want your vote, and North Korea’s wall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The rise of AI could mean a whole new landscape for 2024’s US presidential election: watch out for deep fakes and hyper-persuasive chatbots. We unpack North Korea’s secret pandemic project: building a massive border wall with Russia and China. And in Sudan’s largest orphanage, dozens of babies die as their carers escape the fighting. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. Further ReadingSpecial Report: Dozens of babies die in orphanage as Sudan war takes grim toll on KhartoumNorth Korea spent the pandemic building a huge border wallDeepfaking it: America's 2024 election collides with AI boomOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

They are among 90,000 people who have escaped to Chad since fighting broke out in Sudan in mid-April - a major extra burden on one of the world's poorest countries. Even before this emergency, Chad was hosting 600,000 refugees from its war-torn neighbours and grappling with a fourth consecutive year of acute food shortages. Overall, around 2.3 million people are in urgent need of food aid, the World Food Programme warned earlier in May. Squeezed into the open-air compound, the women cook together over small braziers in the sand as children play around them. Hamit said she tried to help "even the refugees who have set up shelters nearby .... they come to us for water".

☆ Special Report: Dozens of babies die in orphanage as Sudan war takes grim toll on Khartoum
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Maggie Michael | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

[1/7] A view from inside an orphanage in Khartoum, Sudan, in this handout image released April 20, 2023. There was no one there,” said Abdullah, speaking by phone from the orphanage, the cries of wailing babies audible in the background. Frini and the director of the orphanage, Zeinab Jouda, referred questions about the total death toll to Abdullah, Mygoma’s medical chief. ABANDONED CHILDRENOfficially called The Orphan's Care Centre, Mygoma, the orphanage is housed in a three-storey building in central Khartoum. She said that a day earlier, two babies who died were instead buried in a city square close to the orphanage.

☆ Heavy clashes in Sudan's capital as truce set to expire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 29 (Reuters) - Heavy and sustained clashes could be heard on Monday in parts of Sudan's capital, residents said, hours before the expiry of a shaky ceasefire deal that had brought some respite from a six-week-old conflict but little humanitarian access. Fighting continued from Sunday into Monday in the south and west of Omdurman, one of three adjoining cities that make up Sudan's greater capital. Across the River Nile in southern Khartoum residents also reported clashes late on Sunday. Saudi Arabia and the United States said on Sunday that both the army and the RSF had repeatedly violated the truce and had impeded the delivery of humanitarian access and restoration of essential services. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz Writing by Aidan Lewis, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S., Saudi Arabia call for extended ceasefire in Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A week-long ceasefire brokered in Saudi and U.S.-led talks in Jeddah is due to run until Monday evening. "While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people," Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said in a joint statement. There was no statement on the possible renewal of the ceasefire from the army. In recent days there has also been fighting in El Fashir, capital of North Darfur State. One El Fashir hospital had recorded three deaths and 26 injuries on Saturday, including children, according to the Darfur Bar Association, an activist group.

☆ Sudan: Nearly 1.4 million people displaced since civil war erupted, UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sahar Akbarzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Even before the fighting intensified, years of political instability meant Sudan had several million people internally displaced. The country also hosted 1.13 million refugees from other conflict-ridden countries, including South Sudan, Eritrea and Syria, according to UNHCR data. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are flocking home from neighboring Sudan, which erupted in violence last month. Sam Mednick/APAmid the vast displacement, there have been increasing reports of gender-based violence and domestic violence, especially among internally displaced Sudanese populations, the UN Population Fund said. This includes 22 attacks on health facilities, six attacks which impacted warehouses, and nine attacks which affected supplies, among others.

In a statement on Saturday, the RSF accused the army of violating the ceasefire and destroying the country's mint in an air strike. Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. On Saturday, Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum," said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city. The RSF has denied reports that its soldiers are engaged in sexual assaults or looting.

☆ Sudan ceasefire deal raises hopes for relief in Khartoum
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Smoke rises above buildings in Khartoum on April 15, 2023, amid reported clashes in the city. Sporadic fighting between Sudan's warring factions could be heard in the capital Khartoum on Sunday, residents said, after a Saudi and U.S.-brokered deal for a week-long ceasefire raised hopes of some let-up in the five-week conflict. The ceasefire deal, signed by the army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, is due to come into effect on Monday evening with an internationally supported monitoring mechanism. Safaa Ibrahim, a 35-year-old Khartoum resident, told Reuters by phone that she hoped the deal could bring an end to the conflict. We've been chased away from our homes, and the family has scattered between towns in Sudan and Egypt," she said.

☆ Air strikes hit Khartoum's outskirts as Sudan's war enters sixth week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. Air strikes were reported by eyewitnesses in southern Omdurman and northern Bahri, the two cities that lie across the Nile from Khartoum, forming Sudan's "triple capital." Some of the strikes took place near the state broadcaster in Omdurman, the eyewitnesses said. The RSF is embedded in residential districts, drawing almost continual air strikes by the regular armed forces. In recent days ground fighting has flared once again in the Darfur region, in the cities of Nyala and Zalenjei.

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