Sudan paramilitary claims to have seized major oil refinery on first day of truce

Air strikes and gunfire reported as three-day ceasefire begins

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  A member of the Saudi Navy carries a child from a ship at Jeddah's port during the kingdom's evacuation of civilians from Sudan. Reuters

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  Indian nationals evacuated from Sudan arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. EPA

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  Sudanese refugees queue to receive aid from the World Food Programme near the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad. Reuters

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  Tunisian citizens evacuated from Sudan leave a military aircraft upon their arrival at Tunis-Carthage International Airport. AFP

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  Indians evacuated from Sudan arrive on a flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. AP Photo

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  Moroccan nationals, who have been evacuated from Sudan, arrive at Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, Morocco. EPA

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  A boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries fleeing violence in Sudan, arrives at King Faisal naval base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. AFP

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  RSF fighters in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. AFP

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  Passengers disembark a plane from Djibouti at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport near Paris after being evacuated from Sudan. AFP

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  Buildings destroyed in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan. AP

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  Passengers fleeing the fighting in Sudan arrive at Wadi Karkar bus station in Aswan, Egypt. EPA

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  Ali Mazloum, a Lebanese citizen who was evacuated from Sudan, is welcomed upon his arrival at Beirut airport. Reuters

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  A woman helps another after fleeing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum. Reuters

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  Soldiers attend to Greek citizens evacuated from Sudan as they disembark from a military aircraft in Attica, Greece. EPA

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  People carry hibiscus juice and cold water for those being evacuated from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Reuters

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  Thais wait to be evacuated by boat at a port in Sudan. EPA

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  Greek citizens arrive from Sudan on a military plane in Elefsina, south of Athens. AFP

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  Japan's senior Vice Foreign Minister Shunsuke Takei welcomes his country's citizens in Djibouti after they were rescued from Sudan. AFP

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  A member of the Saudi Royal Navy carries a child who was rescued from Sudan, in Jeddah. Reuters

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  A military plane carrying evacuees arrives at Ciampino Airport near Rome, Italy. Reuters

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  Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani greets the country's ambassador to Sudan, Michele Tommasi, as he arrives at Ciampino Airport. Reuters

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  South Korea's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Park Joon-yong, at a Saudi Air Force base in Jeddah, where he met diplomats from his country evacuated from Sudan by the kingdom's air force. Reuters

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  Having fled from Sudan, a South Korean nun disembarks from a military plane after landing at King Abdullah Air Base in Jeddah. AFP

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  People gather as they seek to escape the violence in Khartoum. Reuters

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  Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens wait to disembark from a military plane after being evacuated from Sudan, in Djibouti. Reuters

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  A closed pharmacy and shops in the south of Khartoum as battles rage in the capital between the army and paramilitaries. AFP

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  Passengers from Sudan disembark from a Spanish Air Force plane at Torrejon Airbase in Madrid. AP

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  People evacuated from Sudan arrive at a military airport in Amman. AFP

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  Jordan was among those countries to have rapidly flown its citizens in Sudan to safety. AFP

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  This child was one of those to have arrived safely in Amman. AFP

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  A building in Khartoum burns as violence rages in Sudan. EPA

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  Italian citizens are flown out of the Sudanese capital on a military aircraft. Reuters

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  The fighting has caused heavy damage to parts of Khartoum. EPA

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  Indonesian citizens travel on a bus during an evacuation operation in Khartoum. EPA

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  A Spanish military aircraft takes off from Khartoum as European countries rescue citizens from Sudan. Reuters

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  Jordanians arrive at a military airport in Amman after their evacuation from Sudan to escape the fighting. AP

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  French troops arrive at an air base in Djibouti to prepare to evacuate about 100 people from Sudan. AFP

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  Smoke rises from buildings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army in Khartoum. Reuters

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  Saudis are met by Saudi Royal Navy staff as they arrive at Jeddah on the Red Sea after being evacuated from Sudan. Reuters

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  The streets of southern Khartoum bear the scars of fighting between two factions of the Sudanese military. AFP

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  A convoy leaves Khartoum for Port Sudan as fighting between military factions in the Sudanese capital continues. AFP

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  A civilian convoy leaving Khartoum for Port Sudan. AFP

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  Saudi citizens and people of other nations are evacuated by the Saudi Royal Navy from Port Sudan to escape the conflict. Reuters

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  A photo from October 2017 of the US embassy in Khartoum. AFP

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  Saudi citizens are met by Saudi Royal Navy staff as they arrive at Jeddah after being evacuated from Sudan. Reuters

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  Smoke hangs over Khartoum as factions belonging to the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces go back to trading gunfire after a ceasefire failed. AP

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The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claims to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant in Sudan, which supply about 70 per cent and 20 per cent of the country's fuel and electricity, respectively.

In the capital Khartoum, witnesses described hearing air strikes and gunfire, despite the implementation of a 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia.

The preliminary committee of the Sudan Doctors' Trade Union on Wednesday said that four people had been killed the day before, the first day of the truce.

The RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, posted a video that it said had been taken at Al Jaili Refinery, 70km from the capital Khartoum, on Tuesday. The refinery is next to the Garri power station, one of Sudan's largest electricity providers.

In the video, an unnamed official says that RSF troops have surrounded the complex in a 40km radius.

“We have 200 per cent control over Sudan,” he says before the clip ends.

Garri power station has a capacity of 500 megawatts of electricity, or nearly 20 per cent of the country's available supply of about 2,800MW, according to the World Bank.

Any disruption of supply there would worsen an already difficult situation.

Before the conflict, electricity production covered less than 60 per cent of demand, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Khartoum residents say already frequent power cuts worsened after fighting began.

The refinery may be even more important: according to a 2022 assessment by the International Energy Agency, Sudan's refined fuel demand was about 150,000 barrels per day, with Al Jaili producing about 100,000 barrels per day of that requirement.

Noam Raydan, a regional energy analyst and research associate at the Washington Institute, says it is vital for rival forces not to fight over the critical refinery.

“If the refinery halts operations, then the question is, how will Sudan address its needs for oil products?” she says, pointing to trading data that shows the country makes up a deficit of refined fuel with imports, mainly from Gulf countries.

Sudan's finances have been under massive strain in recent years and in February, the government said it would struggle to pay public sector wages after passing the 2023 budget, leaving little available funds for fuel imports.

AFP reported on Tuesday that fuel prices were surging in Khartoum as residents queued at petrol stations to fill their cars, desperate to escape the war.

The US-Saudi-brokered ceasefire is the fourth attempt by the international community to bring a halt to hostilities that have taken the death toll to at least 460.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council held a meeting during which Sudan's representative, Al Harith Idris, called on the RSF to stop its attacks on government and vital facilities.

Despite the ceasefire, witnesses reported hearing explosions and air strikes on Tuesday.

“The pause was not fully upheld, with attacks on headquarters, attempts to gain ground, air strikes and explosions in different areas of the capital,” UN Special Representative Volker Perthes told the Security Council on Tuesday.

Mr Perthes said he was in contact with both Gen Dagalo and army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan.

“There is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously negotiate,” Mr Perthes said.

On Monday, Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the RSF of attacking and looting the building that houses the joint Sudan-Chad coalition forces.

“The attack destroyed the building … and supplies were looted. The head of the joint forces on the Sudanese side was injured as well as other members and individuals,” the ministry told the Suna state news agency.

“A number of people were also killed and two officers detained.”

The death toll of 460 announced by Sudan's Ministry of Health is probably an undercount, as it only includes the number of people in hospitals and morgues.

Several Sudanese civilians have reported — and videos seen by The National have confirmed — that there are a number bodies in the streets.

Agencies contributed to this report