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As the fighting rages unabated in Sudan for a fifth day despite both sides agreeing to a ceasefire, diplomatic missions have urged the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to end hostilities immediately without conditions.
Both sides agreed to a 24-hour truce that theoretically started at 6pm on Wednesday, but failed to stop hostilities, witnesses said in the capital Khartoum.
A similar truce was declared on Tuesday but it also failed to stop the fighting, with both sides stepping up their attacks.
The diplomatic missions cautioned military leaders against further escalation, calling on them to observe their obligations under international law to protect civilians, diplomats and humanitarians in the country.
The missions included the embassies of the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and the Delegation of the EU.
On Wednesday morning, a dark cloud loomed over Sudan's capital Khartoum — a physical manifestation of despair after a night of intense fighting between the army and the powerful RSF, despite Tuesday's ceasefire agreement and another attempt on Wednesday.
The fighting was centred around the airport and the headquarters of the armed forces, both a short distance away from Khartoum's city centre.
Heavy black smoke was billowing from one side of the airport, which has been closed since Saturday and is thought to be under the control of the RSF.
Satellite images show smouldering or damaged airliners sitting on the tarmac.
Both sides have made conflicting claims about the armed forces' headquarters, but witnesses say it remains contested. Video clips posted online show parts of the sprawling complex blackened by fire.
The military said in a statement that it has thwarted an attack by the RSF on its headquarters and captured all-terrain vehicles, ammunition and rifles from the attacking force.
It acknowledged that the RSF was in control of the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, as well as arms depots belonging to the police.
Tuesday's 24-hour truce, which was expected to take effect at 6pm, was shattered before it began, dashing the hopes of the city’s nearly seven million residents of stocking up on food, medicine and baby formula.
Wednesday 6pm ceasefire also appeared to pass with no pause in fighting.
Fires sparked by shelling sent smoke billowing into the sky above Khartoum to feed the ever-blackening horizon.
“I was up all night unable to sleep because of the fighting, but when I finally dozed off, I was startled shortly after by even heavier fighting and the screams of children from my neighbours’ homes,” a Khartoum resident who lives across the Nile from the city centre told The National.
“The situation was very, very difficult overnight. It is worse this morning, calamitous sounds and children’s screams.”
Both sides blamed each other for the collapse of the truce and increased fighting, with air strikes, artillery shelling and heavy gunfire rocking the city without respite since Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
Wednesday is the fifth consecutive day of the violence, which has killed nearly 270 civilians and wounded more than 2,600, including soldiers from both sides, according to official figures.
However, the actual death toll is thought to be much higher.
Residents of the city are taking to social media to report the deaths of relatives, friends and loved ones and to portray the present danger.
“Our young and perfectly mannered uncle has been killed by a stray bullet while on his way to buy food for his family,” wrote one resident on Facebook. “We are so tired of all this pain.”
Another wrote: “Please pray for us. We are hearing large explosions caused by air strikes.”
Social media users posted photos of damage caused by the fighting to their homes or of large-calibre bullets that hit their windows.
“God spared our lives after a bullet hit our home while we were breaking our fast,” wrote a resident next to a photo he posted of the projectile.
Thousands of the city's residents are trying to leave Khartoum to the safety of their home villages and towns, but a shortage of fuel caused by the closure of petrol stations has meant that not everyone is able to flee.
The fighting between the army and the RSF started during the last 10 days of Ramadan, when the faithful focus on their prayers and spend more time at mosques.
The major holiday marking the end of Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr, falls next weekend.
The fighting has also upended an internationally backed plan to restore Sudan’s democratic transition following the 2019 ousting of dictator Omar Al Bashir.
The transition was upended by a 2021 takeover led by the leaders of the current fighting, army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo.
The RSF commander became Gen Al Burhan’s deputy on the ruling and military-led Transitional Sovereignty Council.
The fighting has caused what the UN says is a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system.
The UN World Food Programme suspended operations after three of its employees were killed.
The outbreak of fighting followed rising tension over a plan for the RSF's integration into the regular military, something that Gen Dagalo is known to oppose, preferring that his 100,000-strong force remain independent.
Discord over the timetable for that process delayed the signing of the framework deal to launch a civilian transition that was due to be signed this month.
Both Gen Dagalo and Gen Al Burhan have been trying to frame the conflict as one they are fighting for the sake of restoring Sudan's democratic transition, a claim that is readily dismissed by most Sudanese, who are astounded by the pair's decision to go to war in the heavily populated capital.
Gen Dagalo has described his rival as a war criminal and a liar who is bombing innocent civilians from the air and appealed to the international community to intervene.
Gen Al Burhan has declared the RSF to be a mutinous entity and ordered its dissolution. He also claims that foreign parties he did not name were involved in the fighting in support of the RSF.
The RSF also insists that Islamist extremists loyal to Gen Al Bashir are fighting on the army's side.
Gen Al Burhan is known to have links to Al Bashir's supporters, who he has tried to woo since the 2021 coup to counter the influence of the pro-democracy movement.
