SUDAN’S warring parties were urged on Sunday to agree to and “effectively implement” a new ceasefire amid renewed fighting in the troubled north-eastern African nation.

Sudan descended into chaos after fighting broke out in mid-April between the military, led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

For weeks, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been mediating between the warring parties. 

On May 21, both countries successfully brokered a temporary ceasefire agreement to help with the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. 

Their efforts, however, were dealt a blow when the military announced on Wednesday that it would no longer participate in the ceasefire talks held in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.

Following the military’s decision, the US and Saudi Arabia said they were suspending the talks “as a result of repeated serious violations of the short-term ceasefire.”

US President Joe Biden’s administration imposed sanctions against key Sudanese defence companies run by the military and the RSF and people who “perpetuate violence” in Sudan.

In their statement, Washington and Riyadh urged the Sudanese warring sides to agree to and implement a new ceasefire following the latest one which expired late on Saturday. 

The fighting has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields. 

The conflict has also displaced more than 1.65 million people who fled to safer areas in Sudan and neighbouring countries.

Residents reported intense fighting over the past two days in Khartoum and its neighbouring cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

Loud sounds of shelling and gunfire were heard early Sunday in parts of Omdurman, as the military’s aircraft flew over the capital.

Fighting was also reported in the northern part of the Darfur region, which had witnessed some of the worst battles since the fighting began on April 15.