Renewed air strikes hit Khartoum as clock ticks down on Sudan truce

The fighting has continued despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday.

The Sudanese army pounded paramilitaries in the capital Khartoum with air strikes Thursday while deadly fighting flared in Darfur as the clock ticked down on a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire now in its final full day.

Late Wednesday, the army said it had agreed to talks in Juba, capital of neighbouring South Sudan, on extending the three-day truce which expires on Friday "at the initiative of IGAD", the East African regional bloc.

There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on April 15 between Sudan's regular army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. All have failed.

The fighting has continued despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday, with warplanes patrolling the skies over the capital's northern suburbs as fighters on the ground have exchanged artillery and heavy machine gun fire, witnesses said.

Burhan agreed on Wednesday to the IGAD proposal for talks on extending the truce by a further 72 hours, the army added.

The RSF's response to the proposal remains unclear.

At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures, although the real death toll is likely much higher.