Deadly air strikes hit Sudanese capital amid push for new ceasefire

Air strikes have killed civilians and pummeled multiple parts of the Sudanese capital, residents said, as mediators pushed the warring factions towards a new ceasefire.

On Friday and Saturday, the Sudanese army appeared to ramp up air strikes in its war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), hitting several residential neighbourhoods.

The Khartoum health ministry confirmed a report by local volunteers on Saturday that 17 people, including five children, were killed in the Mayo area of southern Khartoum where 25 homes were destroyed.

The strike was the latest in a series of air and artillery attacks on the poor and densely populated district of the city where most residents are unable to afford the cost of leaving.

Meanwhile, the RSF said it brought down an army warplane in the Nile, west of Khartoum.

The conflict, which is entering its third month with neither side gaining a clear advantage, has displaced 2.2 million Sudanese, killed hundreds, and has sent the war-weary Darfur region into a "humanitarian calamity" according to the United Nations.

Talks in Jeddah, which mediators from the United States and Saudi Arabia had threatened to adjourn, were now addressing a possible new three-day ceasefire, as well as a five-day ceasefire during the upcoming Eid holiday, two sources said.

Air strikes

In a speech posted by the army on Friday, top general Yassir al Atta warned people to stay away from homes the RSF had occupied. "Because at this point, we will attack them anywhere," he said to cheers.

"Between us and these rebels are bullets," he said, appearing to dismiss mediation attempts.

The army has the advantage of air power in Khartoum and its neighbouring cities Omdurman and Bahri, while the RSF has embedded itself in residential neighbourhoods.

Air strikes in central and southern Omdurman continued from Friday into Saturday, impacting homes and killing one person, according to the local committee in the Beit al Mal neighbourhood.

Residents said three members of a family were killed in the Sharq el Nil district after an air strike on Friday.

In El Geneina, West Darfur, more than 270,000 have fled across the border to Chad after more than 1,000 people were killed by attacks that residents and the United States have blamed on the RSF and allied militias.

Within Khartoum, the war has cut off the millions who remain from electricity, water, and access to healthcare, and residents have had to ration food. They report widespread looting.