At Least 27 Killed in Fierce Battle Between Sudan’s Army and Rival Force

51

In the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum, a dangerous and violent battle broke out on Saturday between its military and armed group called “paramilitary force”. This resulted in more than 200 people dying or getting hurt. All these caused even more worries that peace may not be restored anytime soon.

Doctors in the country recently announced that 27 people were killed and over 180 people were injured during some recent events that happened. They also thought that there could be more victims, including soldiers and RSF Presonnel from western Darfur region as well as from Merowe in the north.

The fighting between the military and a group called Rapid Support Forces recently got very intense. This high tension caused difficulties for trying to go back to democracy after the military took over in October 2021.

At the end of a day filled with a lot of fighting, the military refused to negotiate or talk things out with the RSF and instead asked for the end of what it called an “unlawful group”. This rough language showed that the disagreement between those who organized a takeover in 2021 was going to keep happening.

The Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate reported that 27 people had died, with at least 6 of them being in Khartoum and Omdurman. 8 people were killed and 58 injured near Nyala – the capital city of South Darfur region which is located in the southwest.

The shooting started on Saturday morning. All throughout the day, people living in or near the capital could hear loud gunfire. The military and RSF had placed a huge number of soldiers in the area since the attempted takeover of power happened.

Witnesses reported that both sides were shooting with armoured vehicles and machines guns on the backs of trucks in busy locations. Some tanks were spotted in Khartoum. The army said they used planes and drones to hit areas around the capital city where RSF soldiers were located.

The military said Saturday that they had taken control of all the RSF bases around Omdurman. People living in Khartoum reported hearing loud bombs and shots being fired late into the night, and there were loud bangs heard from many places in the capital city.

People in Khartoum saw a lot of fire and explosions. That was something they had never experienced before, according to Dr. Amal Mohamed who works at the Omdurman public hospital. Abdel-Hamid Mustafa, a resident, agreed.

There were special events around Khartoum International Airport too. The airlines that usually flew there stopped their flights without any announcement or warning.

Saudi Arabia’s national airline reported that one of its aircrafts had an accident. Videos showed that the plane was on fire on the ground and so was another plane. FlightRadar24, a website about tracking flights, identified the second plane as belonging to SkyUp, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine. SkyUp did not answer any request for comment.

Earlier in the day, the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate said that two people had sadly been killed at Khartoum airport. Another person was also shot and killed in North Kordofan state, according to them. A BBC reporter was stopped by soldiers, taken away, and beaten up at military headquarters.

The leaders of the armed forces and the RSF argued about who started the fight from Saturday and presented different stories about who controlled important places.

General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who leads Sudan’s army, told a Qatar-based news channel that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had acted badly and caused a fight near Khartoum. He said they even attacked the airport and burned some airplanes! He declared that their forces can hold big places like their military headquarters and the president’s palace. Also, he warned that more soldiers may be sent to Khartoum in case there were further troubles.

The leader of the RSF (a military force), Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, said that Burhan was the one who started the battle by surrounding the RSF troops. He said that he thought it would all be over soon in a few days.

The RSF claimed they had control over Khartoum and Merowe which is far away from the capital city, but the military disagreed and called this “lies”.

A fighting has broken out between two military generals after a few months of escalating tensions and many years of political unrest following the 2021 coup. These two generals have different opinions about how the RSF (headed by Dagalo) should be merged into the armed forces, and who should make the decisions for this process. Joining up these units together is one of the main conditions that an agreement with political groups in Sudan still hasn’t been finalized.

In the past four years, pro-democracy activists have said that Burhan and Dagalo are to blame for the bad treatment of protesters across the county. In June 2019, a lot of people were killed during a protest against the military at their headquarters in Khartoum. Various groups have asked for them to be punished. The RSF has also been blamed for any harm caused by the Darfur conflict.

The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and other important diplomats are extremely worried due to the recent violence. On Twitter, Mr. Blinken asked all sides to immediately stop the fighting and not send any more troops into battle. He also requested that these groups keep talking in order to solve their differences peacefully.

Important people from the United Nations, Europe, Africa and the Arab League are all asking Sudan to stop fighting and talk instead. Also, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have asked those in Sudan to show some restraint while looking for a political solution.

The old Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, had to leave his job because of a coup and he warned that if the fighting continues, then it could lead to a bad war! He asked everyone to stop shooting as soon as possible. His message was posted on Twitter.

Cameron Hudson, a former American diplomat and someone who works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the fighting between two groups could get even worse and go on for longer. He is asking the US to work with other countries in the region to convince leaders of those two groups to stop warring with each other.

Two important people -Volker Perthes, a U.N. (United Nations) envoy for Sudan, and the Saudi Ambassador in Sudan, Ali Bin Hassan Jaffar- have been trying to talk to two other men -Dagalo and Burhan- to try and stop the violence that’s happening in the area. Meanwhile, Chad announced that it’s shutting down its border crossings with Sudan.

Fights broke out in many places around the country such as Northern province, Darfur region, and Port Sudan city by the Red Sea. A military person told us this news but didn’t want to give his name because he isn’t allowed to share it with the media. People from Cairo and Dubai also helped give us this report.