Sudan: fighting eases during truce as thousands flee country

RSF forces were staying in the Ombada block to sleep, residents said, and had hidden their vehicles under trees to avoid being seen by the air force.

Sudanese people have been leaving the country en masse, taking perilous journeys across the vast country and crossing international borders. More than 10,000 people crossed north into Egypt from Sudan in the past five days, authorities in Cairo said. An estimated 20,000 have entered Chad to the west.

The army announced that Bashir and his former defence minister Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein were moved to the hospital on the recommendation of medical staff in Kober prison before the current round of fighting broke out.

The RSF claimed the army sought to bring Bashir back to power, while the military accused its foe of releasing prisoners, including convicted murderers, from five prisons, including Kober.

Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades, was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019 and is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for alleged genocide.

Reuters contributed to this report