Fear that violence could escalate if truce endspublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 27 April 2023

17:54 BST 27 April 2023

Farouk Chothia
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

The big fear is that the war in Sudan will escalate once foreign governments complete the evacuation of their nationals, unless the warring sides agree to extend the 72-hour truce due to end tonight.

Despite the ceasefire, the fighting is now in its 13th day and is across Sudan, from Gedaref near the eastern border with Ethiopia, to Darfur near the western border with Chad, as well as the city of Damazin in the south and the town of Merowe in the north.

At least seven states have been affected by the violence, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).

Worst-hit by the conflict are Khartoum and areas of Darfur, the birthplace of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighting the military for power in Sudan.

Darfur was the scene of a vicious war that broke out two decades ago, with the Janjaweed militiamen - many of whom are now in the RSF - playing a pivotal role in crushing a rebellion against the central government.

As a result, the RSF has a strong military presence in Darfur, and it could retreat to the region and recruit more fighters to challenge the power of the military. It could also rekindle old feuds, making the conflict more complicated.

Foreign governments are pushing for an extension of the ceasefire, and for a negotiated end to the conflict.

If this does not happen, the military and RSF could become involved in a fight to the finish - and Sudanese civilians will suffer the most.

With Arab militias targeting warehouses, markets and homes in Darfur, people are cowering inside.

The BBC speaks to analysts to help map out the scenarios that may unfold in the next few weeks.

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Sudan's military has been carrying out air strikes against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum, despite a ceasefire being in force, the AFP news agency is reporting.

Warplanes have been seen over the city's northern suburbs, while fighters on the ground have been exchanging artillery and heavy machine-gun fire, it quotes witnesses as saying.

Meanwhile, Sudan News has tweeted that three civilians were injured, external when a projectile hit a residential block in Khartoum.

It did not say who was behind the attack.

In the latest sign that the violence in Sudan has spread beyond the capital Khartoum, militiamen have been terrorising civilians in the city of Nyala in South Darfur, a journalist and rights monitor there has told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"They are looting, stealing, destroying people’s property and killing," Ahmed Gouja said.

He added that the fighters were aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is involved in a battle for power with the Sudanese army.

"There are two sides to this war - the RSF and the Sudanese army. At the same time we have a war with militias who are looting and stealing people’s property," Gouja added.

The RSF, formed in 2013, has its origins in the notorious Janjaweed militia that brutally fought rebels in Darfur, where they were accused of ethnic cleansing.

In its latest update on the conflict, external, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said that fighting, looting and the burning of houses had also been reported in Ag Geneina town in West Darfur on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Markets have reportedly been looted, as well as several humanitarian organisations’ premises. Most of the health centres are not functioning."

There were concerns about a potential escalation of ethnic tensions, it added.

Image source, UN-IRMCT

A court has declined to unfreeze the assets of Rwanda genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga in Kenya.

The Kenya anti-corruption court rejected Mr Kabuga’s son Nshimyumuremyi Donatien's plea to allow his aged mother to access rent from the property in the capital, Nairobi, local media report.

The court affirmed similar orders issued by a lower court 15 years ago.

The case, filed in 2008, sought to have Mr Kabuga’s property forfeited and its proceeds used to compensate genocide victims and their families. At the time, Mr Kabuga was a fugitive.

Mr Kabuga’s wife, in her submissions filed before the court, had argued that the Kenyan government had no proof that the contested property was acquired through crime proceeds.

She also claimed that there was no proof that Mr Kabuga used the rent collected from the house to evade arrest.

Mr Kabuga, one of the key suspects of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, was arrested in France in 2020 after evading capture for about 26 years.

He has been charged with several counts of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Dorcas Wangira
BBC News, Nairobi

Kenyan police have arrested a popular televangelist and closed his church in the coast as investigations continue into a religious cult that's been linked to the deaths of nearly 100 people

Pastor Ezekiel Odero, who is famed for drawing huge crowds at his functions, was arrested on Thursday hours after the police inspected a funeral home near his New Life International Church in Mavueni, Kilifi county.

The police said they had established that morgue attendants had been collecting bodies at the church premises.

“This morning we have arrested Pastor Ezekiel Odero on allegations of the deaths that have been occurring at his premises,” Coast regional commissioner Rhoda Onyancha told reporters.

The preacher has not responded to the allegations.

Police are also investigating his alleged relationship to a cult-like controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, who is said to have told followers to starve themselves in order to "meet Jesus".

Kenyan authorities have already recovered 95 bodies of people suspected to have died of starvation and buried in shallow graves, at a 800-acre forest near his church in the coast. Many of the victims were children.

The preacher, who is already in custody, has denied wrongdoing.

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One man in Birmingham said he felt "helpless" as people seek to flee the conflict in Sudan.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, Getty Images

Ethiopia says it is ready to resume tripartite negotiations with Egypt and Sudan to resolve outstanding issues regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), the foreign ministry has said.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mesganu Arga made the comments during talks with the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer.

"Regarding Gerd, he [Ambassador Mesganu] said Ethiopia is ready to resume the tripartite negotiations under the auspices of the AU," the ministry posted on Twitter.

Construction and operation of the dam has strained relations between Ethiopia and Egypt, which demands a legally binding agreement on the dam.

It looks like it will be very difficult to get every Briton out in time before the fighting resumes.