'It's a scorched earth war': Rampage in Darfur as Sudan extends truce

Armed fighters have rampaged through a city in Sudan's war-ravaged region of Darfur, battling each other and looting shops and homes, residents said, as Sudan's two top generals, whose power struggle has killed hundreds, agreed to extend the fragile truce.

Thursday's mayhem in the Darfur city of Genena pointed to how the rival generals' fight for control in the capital, Khartoum, was spiralling into violence in other parts of Sudan.

The two sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce late on Thursday. The agreement, brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, has not stopped the fighting but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate hundreds of their citizens by land, air and sea.

The ceasefire has brought a significant easing of fighting in Khartoum and its neighbouring city Omdurman for the first time since the military and a rival paramilitary force began clashing on April 15, turning residential neighbourhoods into battlegrounds.

Both the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF], led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said late on Thursday that they accepted the extension of the truce.

Battleground Darfur

The fighting has continued in some parts of the capital despite the truce, and in the western region of Darfur, residents said the violence had escalated to its worst yet.

Darfur has been a battleground between the military and the paramilitary RSF since the conflict began nearly two weeks ago.

Early on Thursday, fighters who mostly wore RSF uniforms attacked several neighbourhoods across Genena, driving many families from their homes. The violence spiralled as tribal fighters joined the fray in Genena, a city of around half a million people located near the border with Chad.

"The attacks come from all directions," said Amany, a Genena resident who asked to withhold her family name for her safety. "All are fleeing."

It was often unclear who was fighting whom, with a mix of RSF and tribal militias — some allies of the RSF, some opponents — all running rampant. The military has largely withdrawn to its barracks, staying out of the clashes, and residents were taking up arms to defend themselves, said Dr Salah Tour, a board member of the Doctors' Syndicate in the West Darfur province, of which Genena is the capital.

The syndicate estimated that dozens of people were killed and hundreds wounded. Almost all of Genena's medical facilities, including its main hospital, have been out of service for days, and the sole functioning hospital is inaccessible because of the fighting.

"Criminal gangs" looted the main hospital, stealing vehicles and equipment and destroying the hospital's blood bank, the syndicate said.

Fighters, some on motorcycles, roamed the streets, destroying and ransacking offices, shops and homes, several residents said.

"It's a scorched earth war," said Adam Haroun, a political activist in West Darfur, speaking by telephone with the sound of gunfire at times drowning out his voice.

Haroun and other residents said the city's main open-air market was completely destroyed. Government offices and aid agencies compounds were trashed and repeatedly burned, including UN premises and the headquarters of the Sudanese Red Crescent.

Two major camps for displaced people have been burned down, their occupants — mainly women and children from African tribes — dispersed, said Abdel-Shafei Abdalla, a senior member of a local group that helps administer camps.

Elsewhere in Darfur, there have been sporadic clashes, particularly in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province, where thousands have fled their homes, Abdalla said.

At least 512 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed in Sudan since April 15, with another 4,200 wounded, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. The Doctors' Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties, has recorded at least 295 civilians killed and 1,790 wounded.