Thousands of people fled Sudan's capital on Wednesday as fighting between the army, and paramilitaries continued for the fifth day after a 24-hour truce was breached.
Fighting erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who took control in a 2021 coup: army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
It followed a disagreement between two military officials, Burhan and Daglo, over the planned integration of the RSF into the military, which was a vital prerequisite for an official agreement to begin Sudan's transition to democracy.
Witnesses observed loud explosions and heavy shooting in the city on Wednesday early, while clouds of thick black smoke emerged from structures near the military headquarters in central Khartoum.
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According to witnesses, RSF military fighters on armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks loaded with heavy machinery and ammunition raced into the streets as military fighter jets blasted overhead and shot at RSF targets.
With food supplies running low, power outages, and a shortage of running water, citizens assembled in their houses as they became increasingly desperate.
Their evacuation aspirations were shattered on Tuesday when a 24-hour humanitarian truce crumbled only minutes after it was set to begin at 1600 GMT.
On Wednesday morning, thousands of civilians took matters into their own hands, leaving their homes in Khartoum, many in automobiles while others travelled on foot, including women and children.
They claimed the streets were littered with dead bodies, whose stench filled the air.
Governments have begun to organize the removal of thousands of individuals from other countries, including many United Nations officials.
Humanitarian bodies such as the united nations and the red cross society have pleaded for safe passage for their doctors and other workers who want to help the injured in the conflict zone. This request comes a day after the world food programme stopped its operations in the country after the death of three workers.
