Omar al-Bashir

Sudan's nearly 11-month war between rival generals "risks triggering the world's largest hunger crisis", the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) warned on March 6.

A US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan's warring generals officially came into effect Tuesday after 10 days of urban combat killed hundreds, wounded thousands and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners.

Fighting in Sudan raged for a second day Sunday after battles between rival generals in control since their 2021 coup killed at least 56 civilians and wounded hundreds more people, sparking international alarm.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the tribunal said in a press release.

As Sudan's economic crisis drags on, grocer Hassan Omar keeps busy cleaning packaged food items that have been gathering dust for months as his dwindling customer base make fewer purchases.

"People can no longer afford to buy all their needs," Omar, 43, told AFP at his grocery store in the capital Khartoum.

Sudan's security forces dispersed demonstrators and rounded up more than 100 people on Nov. 7 in the capital of Khartoum, in the latest crackdown on pro-democracy protesters after last month's military coup.

Protesters were defiant on the streets of Sudan on Oct. 26 demonstrating against a military coup, as international condemnation of the country's security forces ramped up with the U.N. Security Council expected to meet later.

"Returning to the past is not an option," chanted the crowds, who remained outside despite soldiers opening fire and reportedly killing at least four people.

Sudanese officials say military forces have detained at least five senior government officials, and the main pro-democracy political group has called on people to take to the streets to oppose an apparent new military coup, according to Britain's The Guardian.

Joint military forces were behind the detention on Oct. 25 of civilian members of Sudan's ruling council and ministers in the transitional government, the information ministry said, in what activists denounced as a "coup".

Nearly two years after the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, Sudan is taking steps to rejoin the international community from which it was long shunned. That includes its film industry.