Sudan fighting enters third week as UN says country collapsing

Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy fire over Khartoum as fighting between Sudan's army and paramilitaries entered a third week with the UN chief warning the country was falling apart.

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

They have agreed to multiple truces but none has taken hold as the number of dead civilians continues to rise and chaos and lawlessness grip Khartoum, a city of five million people where many have been cloistered in their homes lacking food, water, and electricity.

Tens of thousands have been uprooted within Sudan or embarked on arduous trips to neighbouring Chad, Egypt, South Sudan or Ethiopia to flee the battles.

"There is no right to go on fighting for power when the country is falling apart," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.

The latest three-day ceasefire -- due to expire at midnight (2200 GMT) Sunday -- was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.

"We woke up once again to the sound of fighter jets and anti-aircraft weapons blasting all over our neighbourhood," a witness in southern Khartoum told AFP.

Another said fighting had continued since the early morning, especially around the state broadcaster's headquarters in the capital's twin city of Omdurman.

Other witnesses reported exchanges of machine gun fire across the Blue Nile in Khartoum North, while the sound of gunfire rang out in Burri in the east of the city.

Smoke drifted over the area around Khartoum airport. ...