Regional leaders head to Sudan as fighting enters fifth day

Regional leaders have said they are heading to Sudan on Wednesday in a bid to broker a ceasefire as clashes with the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Heavy gunfire and explosions are still being heard in the capital Khartoum, despite a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire that was to take effect late on Tuesday but has failed to hold. 

The African Union (AU) was hoping for a short humanitarian ceasefire would also allow a delegation from Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan to arrive for talks with Sudan’s de-facto leader General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his rival Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo who commands the RSF.

So far international attempts at mediation have failed and there is growing concern that the country is sliding into civil war. 

At least 185 people have been killed and more than 1,800 wounded since fighting broke out on Saturday.