US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order authorising sanctions against Sudan, saying the fighting must end.

Mr Biden called the violence a tragedy and a betrayal of the Sudanese people.

He said the violence in Sudan was “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”.

The latest ceasefire has failed to hold, with heavy fighting continuing in the capital Khartoum, as well as the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

The World Food Programme has estimated that more than $13m worth of food aid destined for Sudan has been looted since fighting broke out last month.