Sudan: Death toll rises as fighting continues

At least 97 civilians have been killed in Sudan as the death toll rises from fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary.

The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate announced the updated death toll on Monday morning but said it does not include all casualties are many people are unable to reach hospitals amid the clashes.

At least 365 others were wounded, the doctors' union added.

The AFP news agency reported that gunfire and loud explosions continued to be heard in the streets of the capital, Khartoum, on Monday after a three-hour pause in hostilities on Sunday night.

Blinken expresses 'deep concern' over violence

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that there is a "shared deep concern" among allies toward the situation in Sudan.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan, he said the people of Sudan want democracy and for the military to "return to the barracks."

"And also a strongly held view, again, across all of our partners on the need for an immediate ceasefire and return to talks — talks that were very promising in putting Sudan on the path to a full transition to civilian led government," Blinken added.

This sentiment was echoed by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly who said "uiltimately, the immediate future lies in the hands of the generals who are engaged in this fight, and we call upon them toput peace first, to bring an end to the fighting, to get back tonegotiations."

It comes after the African Union and United Nations also called for an immediate ceasefire without conditions over the weekend.

What's behind the fighting in Sudan?

Fighting erupted on Saturday after a weekslong power struggle between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo — more commonly known as Hemeti — who leads the RSF paramilitary.

The two leaders disagreed over the planned integration of the 100,000-strong RSF into Sudan's regular army, which was key condition for the deal they struck in the wake of the 2021 military coup that they orchestrated together. Analysts believe Hemeti opposes such a move.