SUDAN: Intense clashes have been reported throughout Sudan as combat between rival armed factions continues to spread.
The army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary organisation, continued to engage in violent conflict throughout the third day of the conflict.
Around 100 civilians have been killed, said a doctors’ union, and one estimation put the number of people injured at 1,100.
Both factions asserted control over key locations in the capital city of Khartoum, where locals took cover from blasts.
They maintained a brief ceasefire earlier on Sunday to enable the evacuation of the injured, though it was unclear how strictly they adhered to it.
Medical professionals cautioned that the situation at Khartoum hospitals is very challenging and that the fighting was preventing staff and medical supplies from accessing injured individuals.
The violence is a result of a fierce power struggle between opposing groups in the military leadership of the nation.
The two men at its core have divergent views on how the nation should move to civilian governance. Since a coup toppled Omar al-Bashir, the country’s longtime authoritarian president, in 2019, Sudan has been governed by generals.
On Sunday and early Monday, the RSF claimed that it had taken control of locations in the nation’s capital, Khartoum, including the presidential palace and Omdurman, a nearby city, as well as the northern Merowe Airport and western Darfur.
However, according to other reports, the army had retaken control of the airport, with the military claiming that they were just dealing with “small pockets of rebels.”
The army has previously disputed that the RSF had taken control of important areas in the city, and local witnesses told the media that the army appeared to be making progress after pounding RSF bases with airstrikes.
Death toll rises as fighting continues
Estimates of the death toll have varied. The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors reported 942 injuries, 97 civilian fatalities, and dozens of security force fatalities.
In the meantime, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that over 83 people have died and over 1,100 have been injured nationwide since Thursday, when the RSF started mobilising its soldiers. It doesn’t specify the number of civilians who perished in the fighting.
Among the deceased are three employees of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which has ceased operations in the nation.
The World Food Programme (WFP) expressed its “horror” over the killings in a statement, adding that one of its aircraft had been damaged during a gunfight on Saturday at Khartoum International Airport, which it claims hindered its capacity to deliver aid.
On Sunday, there was a brief respite in the fighting after physicians’ unions complained that it was difficult for doctors and sick people to get to and from hospitals while the combat was raging.
There are reports that Sudan’s state television has ceased broadcasting, but the reason for the interruption in programming was not immediately clear.
The conflict is between the RSF, a notorious paramilitary group led by Sudan’s deputy president Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, and army units loyal to the de facto commander, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The intention to merge the 100,000-member RSF into the army and the question of who would subsequently command the new force are the main causes of contention.
International organisations have joined together to demand an end to the violence once and for all. Leading Arab nations, the US, and the African Union have all called for the reopening of negotiations to restore a civilian administration, and the African Union has said that its senior diplomat, Moussa Faki Mahamat, will travel to try to broker a ceasefire.
In a statement, the Egyptian presidency said that South Sudan and Egypt had also offered to intervene between the warring factions.
Also Read: Sudan: Paramilitaries and Army Brawl in Khartoum and Other Cities
