Sudanese say Eid ceasefire meaningless as fighting continues

Residents reported hearing heavy gunfire in parts of the capital Khartoum early on Wednesday as well as artillery strikes and air strikes that the Sudanese army launched against Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions.

Negotiations between the parties to the conflict are currently on hold.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Omdurman, a city that lies across the Nile from Khartoum, said there was little sense it is Eid – a Muslim holy festival – and few people are out on the streets.

Many fear the 17th ceasefire to be announced since the start of the conflict on April 15 is no guarantee of their safety after violations of the previous ceasefires.

The heads of the army and RSF each announced a unilateral truce on Tuesday for Eid.

“A ceasefire has very little meaning because, again, this Eid al-Adha [the Sudanese] can’t really celebrate,” Morgan said, adding that the peacetime mood of Eid has instead been replaced by sadness from people having lost family members or being displaced due to the conflict.

Many do not have the financial capabilities to celebrate the holiday either.

Thousands fleeing the conflict and waiting along the border with Egypt or those displaced from the western region of Darfur into neighboring Chad are not celebrating the festival after the ordeals they have been through.

Sudan’s conflict has killed at least 2,000 civilians and wounded many more.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated almost 2 million people have been displaced internally and more than 600,000 have fled to neighboring countries.

Peace talks brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia have failed to make progress, and fighting has intensified in recent weeks as a result.