UN refugee agency ‘extremely concerned’ about effect on ‘fragile’ region, as evidence emerges of widespread destruction

Fighting has erupted in Sudan’s Darfur region – including the use of heavy weaponry, and attacks on civilians and essential healthcare infrastructure – escalating a crisis now in its third week that was sparked by two rival generals.

Across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the sound of gunfire echoed through the streets throughout Sunday and airstrikes hit its twin city Omdurman.

This live blog is now closed. You can read all our Sudan coverage here:

• See all our Sudan coverage

The US embassy in Khartoum has overnight reminded US citizens in Sudan to register in order to be informed of opportunities to evacuate when they arise. The US has previously evacuated its diplomatic staff from the country.

The Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall has reported from Larnaca airport that the extended 72-hour ceasefire gives international partners a chance to press for a longer-lasting peace, and that the emphasis on aid efforts might switch from getting people out of Sudan to getting supplies in. He told viewers:

I think, as many people predicted, it went quite close to the line before both sides came to an agreement that there should be a lull, or at least a lull of sorts, in the fighting. So that is good news.

Now what needs to happen is that the evacuation flights need to continue apace to get as many people out as possible. But also, I think what you’ll find, is that the foreign diplomatic community tries to bring together the two factions, in order to find something more long lasting and stable, rather than these sort of multiple iterations of 72 hours that have got people living on edge.

Army and RSF agree to extend truce but violence means no respite for exhausted civilians

• Sudan crisis – latest updates

Rival factions in Sudan agreed on Thursday night to extend a ceasefire despite reports of surging fighting across the country that many fear suggests intense violence in the days to come.

A 72-hour truce from Monday night had initially brought relative calm to Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and so facilitated the evacuation of thousands of foreign nationals in recent days. But fighting between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), escalated through Thursday in the city and its environs, as well as in the country’s restive south-west.

Former ambassadors and analysts say lasting ceasefire vital to thwart attempts to capitalise on unrest

Securing a lasting ceasefire in Sudan is essential in order to limit the opportunity for malign outside actors to intervene in the fighting on a greater scale, former diplomats and analysts have said.

Foreign leaders including the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Israeli officials have offered to help mediate in Sudan, while the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said he had engaged the African Union in an attempt to ensure a long-term ceasefire.

Army and paramilitary opponents the RSF agree to extend fragile truce that was due to end at midnight

The UK’s foreign secretary James Cleverly has been defensive about criticism of UK evacuation efforts from Sudan affecting and delaying efforts by Germany and other European nations to evacuate people.

The BBC has reported that German authorities told it that the British operation to rescue diplomats at the weekend “jeopardised” the efforts of other nations, because it didn’t have the permission of the Sudanese authorities to take place. Cleverly told listeners:

My understanding is we did have permissions for those overflights. I will, of course, look at the circumstances of that. My understanding is we’ve had permissions for those flights. We enjoy a very, very close professional relationship with the German government and the German armed forces that have been on the on the ground.

The extremist putschist forces have attacked the camp of the RSF in the Kafouri area with aviation and artillery. Our forces confronted the aggressor forces … and inflicted heavy losses … and seized their military equipment. The attacks of the putschists and the remnants of the former regime on the camps of our forces come during the humanitarian truce that was allocated to open humanitarian corridors for citizens and residents of brotherly and friendly countries.