Fighting has intensified in Khartoum as well as Darfur, despite US sanctions that were imposed due to the collapse of ceasefire talks.

The Sudanese army has called in reinforcements to aid in its fight with its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), sparking fear among residents in the capital of Khartoum that the conflict will intensify.

Residents in the southern part of the capital reported seeing the reinforcement troops, alongside a heightened military presence of the RSF, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said on Saturday from Omdurman, a city adjoining Khartoum.

The Sudanese army has been trying to take control of a military base there that belongs to the RSF for the past two days. Residents have been warned to stay as far away as possible from the base, Morgan said.

Fighting has also continued to rage elsewhere in the state of Khartoum as well as Darfur, intensifying despite United States sanctions imposed after the collapse of a US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire late on Thursday.

“Fighter jets are flying overhead in the city of Omdurman. And there’s been air strikes launched by the army on RSF positions in the northern parts of the capital,” Morgan said.

“There have also been sounds of artillery reported in the centre of the capital.”

Journalist Matt Nashed, speaking from neighbouring Egypt, said the army seems to be attempting to launch a much larger offensive in the capital.

“They want to try to recapture some territory it does not control … in Khartoum and the point for this really, is to save face and build some leverage before entering negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces,” he said.

“The second reason would be related to trying to maintain its minimal symbolic support that it still has from constituents within Khartoum,” Nashed added.

A day earlier, shelling rocked greater Khartoum with witnesses reporting “artillery fire” in the eastern part of the state and around the state television building in Omdurman.

On Wednesday, the country experienced the most deadly single attack since the conflict began with at least 18 people killed and a further 106 wounded, Morgan reported, adding that artillery shelling hit a market in Khartoum resulting in civilian deaths.

The persistent fighting, spanning more than seven weeks since the conflict between the duelling generals of the army and the RSF broke out on April 15, has forced volunteers to bury 180 bodies recovered from combat zones without identification, the Sudanese Red Crescent said on Friday.

The ceasefire talks were meant to allow humanitarian actors to operate safely. But the Red Crescent volunteers have found it difficult to move through the streets to pick up the dead due to security constraints.

Additionally, aid groups face other troubles, with the World Food Programme (WFP) reporting this week that nearly 17,000 tons (15,400 tonnes) of food aid have been looted since the start of the conflict.

“The aid that was looted in El Obeid was destined for more than four million people in the western region of Darfur,” Morgan said, referring to one of the WFP’s largest logistics bases in Africa located in North Kordofan state.

“Some of those who we spoke to say that they’re concerned not of being hit by an artillery or an air strike, but that because of the humanitarian situation, they may die of hunger,” she added, referring to the humanitarian crisis.

More than 1,800 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, and at least 1.6 million displaced within the country or across its borders, the United Nations has said, with many fleeing to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.

World Opinions + Agencies

L’article Sudan army brings in reinforcements as it battles RSF in Khartoum est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Fierce fighting erupts in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in Sudan, dealing a new blow to hopes for the country’s transition to democracy.

Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary force have engaged in fierce fighting in the capital and elsewhere in country, dealing a new blow to hopes for a transition to democracy and raising fears of a wider conflict.

At least 25 people were killed and 183 others were injured in clashes across the country on Saturday, the Sudanese Doctors’ Union told the Reuters news agency. The group was unable to determine if all the casualities were civilians.

The clashes capped months of heightened tensions between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Those tensions had delayed a deal with political parties to get the country back to its short-lived transition to democracy, which was derailed by an October 2021 military coup.

After a day of heavy fighting, the military ruled out negotiations with the RSF, instead calling for the dismantling of what it called a “rebellious militia”.

The sound of heavy firing could be heard throughout Saturday across the capital, Khartoum, and nearby city Omdurman, where the military and the RSF have amassed tens of thousands of troops since the coup.

Witnesses said fighters from both sides fired from armoured vehicles and from machine guns mounted on pick-up trucks in fighting in densely populated areas. Some tanks were seen in Khartoum. The military said it launched attacks from planes and drones at RSF positions in and around the capital.

Residents described chaotic scenes. “Fire and explosions are everywhere,” said Amal Mohamed, a doctor in a public hospital in Omdurman. “All are running and seeking shelter.”

“We haven’t seen such battles in Khartoum before,” said Khartoum resident Abdel-Hamid Mustafa.

Clashes intensify for control of airports

One of the flashpoints was Khartoum International Airport. There was no formal announcement that the airport was closed, but major airlines suspended their flights.

This included Sudan-bound flights from Egypt and Saudi Arabia which turned back after nearly landing at the airport, flight tracking data showed..

World Opinions – Agencies

L’article Army and rival forces clash as power struggle rocks Sudan.. Video est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.