Sudan Conflict: Seven-Day Ceasefire Fails As Fighting Intensifies

A ceasefire in Sudan that was meant to go into effect on Thursday has already been breached, with heavy shelling and airstrikes being reported in the morning close to the presidential palace in the nation's capital, Khartoum.

In addition, artillery fire was reported in Omdurman, a nearby town, according to statement accounts of eyewitnesses.

The week-long cease-fire in the Sudanese conflict was meant to start on Thursday and last until May 11. 

The likelihood that it would hold, though, had been viewed as remote. 

The de facto leader of Sudan, Abdel Fattah Burhan, who is in charge of the regular army, and his challenger and former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who is in charge of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), engaged in deadly fighting on April 15.

On Thursday, the RSF charged that the military had violated the terms of the most recent cease-fire. 

In a statement, it charged that the army had bombed both RSF positions and residential areas.

The army refuted these allegations and asserted that early on Thursday morning, RSF rebels attacked soldiers.

Cease-fires lasting up to 72 hours have been arranged numerous times since hostilities started in Sudan, only to be constantly breached.

Estimates place the number of fatalities from the violence at between 500 and 700.