Sudan army agrees to temporary truce as conflict rages for 4th day

The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force that have been battling the past four days for control of the country have agreed to a 24-hour cease-fire, media reports have said.

Still, hours before the cease-fire was reportedly set to begin on Tuesday, forces loyal to Sudan's two top generals continued fighting each other in the streets of Khartoum, underscoring the fragility of efforts to bring even a pause in the intensifying violence that has threatened to spiral even further into chaos. 

Millions of Sudanese in the capital and other cities have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as rival forces pounded residential areas with artillery and airstrikes and engaged in gunfights outside. 

READ MORE: Nearly 200 dead, 1,800 wounded in Sudan as rival forces battle – UN

Meanwhile, The World Health Organisation's chief called on Tuesday for the parties in the conflict in Sudan to provide access to medical facilities to all those requiring care, warning that medical supplies and personnel in the capital are running low.

"I want to be very clear: All parties must ensure unrestricted and safe access to health facilities for those injured and everyone in need of medical care," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing.

READ MORE: African Union warns against external interference in Sudan crisis

'Almost impossible' to provide aid in Khartoum: IFRC

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said it was nearly impossible to provide humanitarian services around Khartoum and warned that the country's health system was at risk of collapse amid a deadly turf war between two rival security forces.  

"The truth is that at the moment it is almost impossible to provide any humanitarian services in and around Khartoum," Farid Aiywar, IFRC head of delegation for Sudan, told reporters on Tuesday. 

"There are calls from various organisations and people trapped asking for evacuation." 

Aiywar warned that if disruptions to the Sudanese health system persisted, "it will almost go into a collapse."

Fighting between the army and paramilitaries in Sudan has killed over 200 people and wounded 1,800, damaging hospitals and hampering aid after four days of urban warfare.

A weeks-long power struggle exploded into deadly violence on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who commands the paramilitary RSF.

Battles have taken place throughout the vast country, and there are fears of regional spillover. 

READ MORE: Explosions rock Khartoum as fighting rages in Sudan for third day