The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces announced on Sunday the extension of the truce, which ends at midnight, for a period of three days, although it has been constantly violated since its inception.

The army said in a statement that, based on Saudi and American efforts, "the armed forces agreed to extend the armistice," stressing its "full readiness to deal with any violations."

The Rapid Support Forces also announced "an extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours" in response to "international, regional and local calls."

It said it would abide by the cease-fire "despite the continued violations" by the army.

Sudan has plunged into chaos since the bloody struggle for power erupted in mid-April between army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, nicknamed "Hemedti".

The war left at least 528 dead and 4,599 wounded, according to figures announced by the Ministry of Health on Saturday, but the toll is likely to be higher.

The two parties to the conflict regularly exchange accusations of violating the truce, which was extended for three days under international mediation, and ends at midnight on Sunday (22:00 GMT).

According to eyewitnesses, Agence France-Presse, clashes took place near the army headquarters in Khartoum, and the city of Omdurman, west of the capital, was subjected to air strikes.

From the south of Khartoum, an eyewitness said, "There is very fierce fighting and heavy shooting in the street every few minutes since early morning."

With the battles entering its third week, families in the capital, which has a population of about five million people, and its suburbs are still suffering from a lack of food, water, electricity and cash, and many of them are staying at home.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced internally or to neighboring countries, while several foreign and Arab countries are organizing large-scale evacuations.

The first shipment of humanitarian aid from the Red Cross arrived in Port Sudan on Sunday, sent from Amman and weighing eight tons.

"We were able to fly to Port Sudan from Amman as a medical staff, with supplies to deal with war-wounded, enough to stabilize 1,500 wounded," Patrick Youssef, regional director for Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told a virtual press conference from Geneva.

Youssef hopes to "obtain permits and security guarantees," adding, "We have another medical staff ready (...) and we also hope to send aid from Nairobi in the coming days."

International and regional powers called for an end to the escalating violence between the two military leaders, but they refused direct talks and exchanged accusations through the media.

On Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan met with an envoy of Lieutenant General Al-Burhan.

No diplomatic solution appears on the horizon, despite international and regional efforts.

However, the Arab League announced that a meeting would be held on Monday at the ambassadorial level, at the request of Egypt, to discuss the situation in Sudan again.

In a statement, the United Nations announced the retention of a number of its employees in Sudan, headed by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Volker Berthes, while 700 of its employees, embassies and non-governmental organizations arrived at Port Sudan in preparation for their evacuation.

The statement stated that "43 internationally recruited United Nations staff and 29 international NGO staff have already been evacuated from El Geneina (West Darfur) and Zalingei (Central Darfur) to Chad... A small number of internationally recruited staff will remain, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General." Volker Berthes, in Sudan and will continue to work towards a solution to the current crisis."

The United Nations said that about 75,000 people were internally displaced during the first week of fighting, mainly in the states of Khartoum, Northern, Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North, West and South Darfur.

More than 30,000 people fled to Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Central Africa, according to United Nations estimates, which warned that the number of fleeing could reach 270,000 if the fighting continues.

Arab and foreign countries intensified efforts to evacuate their employees and nationals.

The Sudanese Ministry of Health said that the fighting affected 12 states out of 18 in the country.

In West Darfur, at least 96 people have been killed since Monday in El Geneina, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which described the situation as "serious".

Looting, destruction and arson are increasing, including inside camps for the displaced, according to Doctors Without Borders, which was forced to "stop almost all of its work in West Darfur" because of the violence, according to the organization's deputy director in Sudan, Sylvain Peron.

In a statement, Peron warned that his organization is "very concerned about the impact of violence on those who have already suffered waves of violence."

The Ministry of Health indicated that "the armed tribal conflict caused the destruction of the main hospital in El Geneina and the Ministry of Health, and damaged its property, vehicles and equipment."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the fighting in Darfur as "horrific," and said, "Society is collapsing, and we see tribes now trying to arm themselves."

The Darfur region witnessed a bloody war that began in 2003 between the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir and rebels belonging to ethnic minorities, killing 300,000 people and displacing 2.5 million others, according to the United Nations.

In this war, Al-Bashir resorted to forming the "Janjaweed" militia, led by Dagalo, which later evolved into the Rapid Support Forces, which were officially established in 2013.

In 2021, Al-Burhan and Daglo overthrew their civilian partners, after sharing power with them since the fall of President Omar Al-Bashir in 2019.

However, differences soon emerged between them and escalated, the most prominent of which was the conditions for integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the army.

The Sudanese army announced in a statement that Dagalo was moving forces "from the west to the capital." It was not possible to verify this information from an independent source.

Experts from the Carnegie Center for Middle East Studies say that Dagalo can "mobilize the Arab tribes in Darfur and in other regions," and add, "The longer he can maintain his positions in Khartoum for a longer period, the stronger his position will be at the negotiating table."