Reuters. The sound of continuous gunfire could be heard ringing out around residential areas of the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Wednesday as the armed conflict became more "aggressive" on its fifth day, according to one reporter at the scene, who said local people are still sheltering at home as the violence rages on.
The crisis erupted last Saturday after a disagreement over the integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group into the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) as part of a transition towards civilian rule. At least 270 people have been killed and 2,600 wounded as of Tuesday.
Plans had been in place for a 24-hour ceasefire to take effect from 18:00 local time Tuesday. However, reports soon circulated that the truce had been broken as fighting continued, with the SAF later issuing a statement saying that the RSF had failed to abide by its commitment to the temporary ceasefire.
After this failed ceasefire attempt, Almin said that the crisis appeared only to be deepening as military activities seemingly stepped up on Wednesday, leaving locals in dismay.
"This day is the [most] aggressive day. As we are entering the fifth day of this war, today is the most heaviest day with the using of airstrikes and intensive artillery shells. And we can see that some bombs have fallen on the houses of the civilians and the people are scared and staying home," he said.
Many residents are also reportedly struggling to access basic necessities and suffering frequent power outages and a lack of water supplies as the crisis shows no sign of abating.
