Sudan: Mediation attempt fails 11th time as warring factions clash in Bahri

For the eleventh time, all efforts to bring the conflict in Sudan failed on Friday after warring factions fought heavy clashes in parts of the city of Bahri, according to residents.

The warring factions engaged in the clashes a day after both sides welcomed a new mediation effort in Egypt that sought to end a three-month war.

The latest mediation attempt – the eleventh – was launched in Egypt on Thursday.

Both the army, which has close ties to Egypt, and the RSF paramilitary group welcomed the effort.

The fighting that broke out on 15 April has driven civilians out of the wider capital region – consisting of the cities of Khartoum, Bahri, and Omdurman – and triggered ethnically motivated attacks in the Darfur region.

Regional and international mediation efforts have so far failed to end the fighting and UN officials have said Sudan could slide into civil war.

But four residents of northern Bahri told Reuters they woke to heavy early morning clashes between the two sides, apparently centred around the Halfaya bridge.

While the RSF quickly fanned out across the capital in the early days of the conflict, the army has focused on air and artillery strikes that have done little to change the scene.

The army has conducted more ground operations in recent weeks, particularly in Omdurman.

The Bahri residents said they heard air strikes, artillery fire, and gunshots, continuing into the afternoon.

An army source said the army had succeeded in pushing the RSF out of neighbourhoods in the far north of the city in the morning, but the RSF said in a statement they were able to defeat the forces and claimed to kill hundreds. (Reuters/NAN)