Courtesy: Geo News/AFP
- Fighting between army and paramilitaries continues with no signs of ending.
- “We urge the two parties to exercise constraint,” the Pakistani embassy says.
- Embassy advises Pakistanis to stay at home, avoid unnecessary outgoings.
The Embassy of Pakistan in Sudan’s capital Khartoum came under attack Wednesday as the fighting between the army and paramilitaries continues with no signs of ending after five days.
In a statement, the embassy said: “Today, the Embassy of Pakistan was hit by three bullets amid the clashes between Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces, which cause[d] loss to the Chancery building.”
The statement mentioned that the incident was a blatant violation of the Vienna Convention as the host government is responsible for providing security to diplomatic missions.
“We urge the two parties to exercise constraint and request the government of Sudan to immediately deploy security personnel for the protection and security of Embassy of Pakistan,” the statement said.
The embassy once again advised all Pakistanis to stay at home and avoid unnecessary outgoings due to the deteriorating security situation. There are around a thousand Pakistanis in Khartoum.
Thousands of residents fled Sudan’s capital where witnesses reported bodies in the street from fighting between the army and paramilitaries that embassies said killed more than 270 civilians.
The Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries said they would “fully commit to a complete ceasefire” from 1600 GMT for 24 hours, as did the army.
But at the appointed time, shots were still heard throughout Khartoum, according to witnesses.
It was the second day in a row a proposed humanitarian ceasefire failed to take hold, with both the army and the RSF blaming each other Tuesday for breaking a South Sudan-brokered truce.
Foreign diplomats have been attacked, and United Nations emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said the UN had received “reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers”.
Governments started planning to evacuate their citizens, among them many UN staff.
Sudanese greet army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 16, 2023. — AFP
The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who commands the RSF.
It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition.
Heavy gunfire resounded and deafening explosions rattled buildings in Khartoum — a city of five million people — as plumes of thick black smoke rose from buildings around the army headquarters.
RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.
Battles have damaged residential and commercial buildings, and civilians sheltering in their homes are becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.