Sudan's army launches new attack on capital

26 September 2024, 17:15 | Updated: 26 September 2024, 20:29

New fighting rocked Sudan's capital on Thursday with airstrikes and drone attacks in and around Khartoum amid a worsening cholera outbreak, officials said.

Four civilians were killed and 14 others were injured in the Karrari district of Khartoum, a health ministry spokesperson said.

Sudan's army launched the attack, which involved artillery and air strikes, in its biggest operation to regain ground there since early in its 17-month war with a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The push by the army, which lost control of most of the capital at the start of the conflict, came ahead of an address by its commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later in the day.

Separately senior military officers told Sky News that forces have crossed three key bridges: Halfaya bridge into Bahri, and Fiteihab and White Nile bridges into the central part of Sudan's capital.

However, Reuters news agency said the RSF had claimed to have prevented the army attempting to cross two bridges.

The RSF has continued to make advances in other parts of Sudan in recent months in a conflict that has caused a vast humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 10 million people and driving parts of the country to extreme hunger or famine.

Diplomatic efforts by the United States and other powers have faltered, with the army refusing to attend talks last month in Switzerland.

Hundreds dead in cholera outbreak

The number of people who have died in Sudan's cholera outbreak has risen by nearly 100, or almost 20%, in just two days, Sudan's health ministry has said.

A total of 473 people have died since the country's rainy season began two months ago. There have been nearly 15,000 cases across 10 states.

Cholera is a highly contagious disease which is transmitted through contaminated food or water. It causes diarrhoea and severe dehydration and can be fatal if not immediately treated.

A vaccination programme is currently under way.