As of 18 April 2023, armed conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese military is ongoing for a fourth consecutive day in the capital Khartoum, the adjacent city of Omdurman and other locations across the country. In Khartoum, fighting occurred near the Khartoum Central Military District and in the southwestern Gabra neighborhood while the Sudanese military conducted airstrikes against RSF targets across the city. At least 12 of 20 hospitals in the capital city were forced to evacuate patients and staff, either due to the attacks or power outages, and an additional four hospitals outside Khartoum have been forced to close. Fighting also continues over a key airbase in the city of Merowe, located along Sudan’s border with Egypt, as well as in the Darfur region and near the country’s border with Ethiopia. At least 185 people — including 97 civilians — have been killed and 1,800 more have been wounded since the conflict began.
Media reports — citing an internal U.N. report — suggest that gunmen likely affiliated with the RSF have been forcing their way into the homes of foreigners in Khartoum, separating men and women, and assaulting or abducting them. Armed individuals have also seized the homes of U.N. staff members and other international workers to use as bases. Snipers also attacked the U.N. housing compound; however, no injuries occurred. European Union officials report that the EU ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his home in Khartoum, though no further details are available. Several international organizations report being unable to operate in Sudan due to heavy fighting, looting of their facilities and assaults on their personnel. In a related event the previous day, RSF soldiers opened fire on a U.S. diplomatic convoy. No one was injured, and the reason for the attack remains unknown.
RSF leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and Sudanese army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan have agreed to a 24-hour-long ceasefire as of 1800 local time (1600 UTC) on 18 April to allow civilians to retrieve the bodies of people killed in the fighting before evacuating; however, previous such ceasefire declarations have been repeatedly ignored or violated. Individuals in Sudan should not rely upon such declarations as reliable, or as indicators of a time period of possible safety
