GOVERNMENTS from around the world scrambled to evacuate their diplomatic staff from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Sunday as the fierce fighting between rival military groups continues to rage.

The violence continued for a ninth day despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Fighting raged in Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Khartoum, residents reported.

“We did not see such a truce,” said Amin al-Tayed from his home near state television headquarters in Omdurman. He said heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city.

Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum’s airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed air strikes on the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. 

There was no immediate comment from the army.

The country experienced a “near-total collapse” of internet connection and phone lines nationwide today, according to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring service.

“It’s possible that infrastructure has been damaged or sabotaged,” Alp Toker, director of Netblocks, said in an interview. “This will have a major effect on residents’ ability to stay safe and will impact the evacuation programmes that are ongoing.”

After a week of bloody battles that hindered rescue efforts, United States special forces evacuated 70 US embassy staffers from Khartoum to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia earlier today.

Although US officials said it was too dangerous to carry out a government-co-ordinated evacuation of private citizens, other countries scrambled to evacuate citizens and diplomats.

France was among the European nations trying to organise a mass exodus of its staff. 

French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said France was undertaking the operation with the help of European allies.

The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces, led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the powerful paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohammed Hamden Dagalo, has paralysed the country’s main international airport. 

Other airports across the country have also been knocked out of operation.

Overland travel across areas contested by the warring parties has proven dangerous. 

The power struggle between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces has dealt a harsh blow to Sudan’s heady hopes for a democratic transition. 

More than 420 people have been killed and over 3,700 wounded in the fighting while millions of Sudanese have been left stranded at home.