FIGHTING between the warring Sudanese factions resumed with a fresh intensity following a brief ceasefire on Saturday.

The army, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Response Forces, headed by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have been waging a deadly conflict since April 15 that has killed more than 860 civilians, according to Sudan’s Doctors’ Syndicate.

Multiple truces have been agreed and broken since the outbreak of the fighting.

Washington slapped sanctions on both rival generals after the last attempt collapsed at the end of May.

But within minutes of the official ceasefire ending, gunfire, air raids and artillery shelling could once again be heard across the country.

Fighting broke out in the north of Omdurman, in el-Geneina near the border with Chad, and in el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, south-west of Khartoum; witnesses said today’s fighting has been the most fearsome to date.

“The truce made us relax a bit, but the war and fear are returning today,” said Musab Saleh, a resident of southern Khartoum.

Saudi Arabia and the United States brokered the ceasefire deal to help provide safe passage of desperately needed humanitarian aid across the country.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, about two million people have been displaced within Sudan and a further half million have fled to neighbouring countries for safety. Most of these countries are themselves struggling with poverty and internal conflict.

About half of the people fleeing the fighting have headed north towards Egypt, but on Saturday the Egyptians toughened up entry requirements for Sudanese people fleeing the violence. They all now require visas, reversing a previous exemption for women and children. 

The conflict has also sparked a wave of attacks in el–Geneina by nomadic tribes with links to the RSF.

Local reports say these militia groups have been targeting people in the region based on their ethnicity.