KHARTOUM, Sudan

Violent clashes renewed on Wednesday between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in the capital Khartoum, according to eyewitnesses.

The violence comes despite a cease-fire agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States between the two rivals.

Clashes and heavy shelling were reported in several neighborhoods in southern Khartoum, witnesses said.

The sound of artillery shelling was also heard in Karari, north of Omdurman city.

According to witnesses, the Sudanese army closed Al-Fatihab Bridge on the White Nile, which connects Khartoum and Omdurman.

In a statement, the army said its forces repelled an attack by RSF fighters in El-Obeid city, the capital of North Kordofan state.

The military statement said RSF forces had sustained heavy losses in the attack.

There was no comment from the RSF on the report.

At least 863 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in clashes between the army and the RSF since April 15, according to local medics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than one million people have been internally displaced by the conflict.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF over the paramilitary group’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

Sudan's transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi