WASHINGTON — The United States is in direct contact with Sudan's warring parties in hopes of reaching a cease-fire, but neither showed signs of backing down as fighting in the restive African country stretched into a third day.
More than 180 people have been killed and over 1,800 wounded since the conflict erupted Saturday in Khartoum, UN envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes told reporters Monday.
The densely populated Sudanese capital was rocked by gunfire and shelling as army forces loyal to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan clashed with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group headed by Burhan’s deputy, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
Neither of the parties vying for control of the strategically important African country has clean hands, said David Satterfield, who in 2022 served as President Joe Biden's special envoy for the Horn of Africa.