UN agencies warn of 'full blown catastrophe' as 100,000 flee war-torn Sudan

Fierce fighting between rival generals raged on in Sudan Tuesday despite the latest truce, as warnings multiplied of the potential for a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands of refugees.

The bloodshed has gripped Sudan since April 15 when tensions erupted into armed exchanges between regular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands wounded as air strikes and artillery exchanges have gripped swathes of greater Khartoum, sparking the exodus of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries.

Many more cannot afford the arduous journey to Sudan's borders, and have been forced to hole up inside the city of five million people with dwindling supplies of food, water and electricity.

"We are hearing some sporadic gunfire, the roaring of a warplane and the anti-aircraft fire at it," said one resident of south Khartoum.

Other witnesses reported air strikes in north and east Khartoum.

In a Monday briefing, the top UN aid official in Sudan, Abdou Dieng, warned that the situation was turning into "a full-blown catastrophe".

Kenyan President William Ruto said the conflict had reached "catastrophic levels" with the warring generals declining "to heed the calls by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union and the international community to cease fire".

In a virtual meeting with senior UN officials, Ruto said it was imperative to find ways to provide humanitarian relief "with or without a ceasefire".

Burhan and Daglo, who fell out after carrying out a 2021 military coup which derailed Sudan's transition to elective civilian rule, have flouted multiple ceasefires, the latest a 72-hour extension agreed upon late on Sunday.

UN head of mission Volker Perthes said discussions involving Saudi and US mediators were underway with the rival generals to firm up a ceasefire.

The two sides "told us that they are ready to start talks on a technical level over a ceasefire," Perthes told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television in an interview released on Tuesday.