Sudan’s Deadly War: Generals Battle for 3rd Day, Death Toll Reaches 185

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In Khartoum, Sudan and other cities, people stayed in their homes for three days because of loud explosions and gunshots coming from outside. Meanwhile, the army and another big group were fighting each other in the streets to take control of Sudan.

The United Nations has reported that a conflict between the two sides of a disagreement has left 185 people dead and over 1800 hurt. In this fighting, both sides are using tanks, artillery and other weapons in areas with lots of people. Fighter jets could be seen overhead at night and anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky.

Many people have died since fighting started in the streets of Khartoum, but no one knows how many yet. A doctors’ group said 97 civilians are dead so far. This battle is related to Sudan’s future and it began when a rival force was deployed and there were delays in plans to restore democracy in Sudan.

Two big generals with a lot of soldiers had a fight this weekend and it forced many people to hide. Supplies were running out and some hospitals even stopped working. A lot of diplomats all over the world tried to make them stop but nothing worked so far, and now the Security Council is trying to help end the conflict.

Awadeya Mahmoud Koko, who is in charge of a union for thousands of food workers like tea vendors, is living in the southern part of Khartoum and said that it is extremely noisy and dangerous due to gun shots and explosions here. She told us that on Sunday a shell exploded near her neighbour’s house and killed three people. Sadly, they could not get help nor bury them because of the chaos caused by the shelling.

Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is in a state of chaos. There’s been non-stop gunfire around the military headquarters, and white smoke rising up in the air. About 88 students and staff have been stuck in the college library since the fighting began. Unfortunately, one student has died and another injured during clashes outside. With no food or water, everyone is forced to sleep on the floor.

Recently in Sudan, some unusual fighting happened between groups that was much worse than anything they had seen before. It all happened right before a special holiday called Eid al-Fitr, where Muslims celebrate after a month of fasting.

Two generals in Sudan, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, were allies before they both organized a military coup in October 2021. Unfortunately, the situation has become really tense, potentially leading to civil war. The people of Sudan wanted to make their country more democratic instead of having it ruled by a military for many years.

Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a deal with political parties and groups who want more democracy, but the signing was postponed because of arguments around integrating the RSF into the military and who will be in charge.

The U.S., UN and some other places have asked Sudan’s government forces (military) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to stop fighting. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates who supported the RSF in Yemen’s war, also asked them to not continue fighting each other.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently had phone calls with two people, Burhan and Dagalo, to discuss the urgent need for a ceasefire. When talking to reporters in Japan, Blinken said that violent activities are endangering innocent people, diplomats (including American personnel) and even volunteers helping those in need!

Yesterday, a convoy of cars from the U.S. Embassy was attacked by people connected to the ‘RSF’. Everyone in the vehicles is now safe and back home. Blinken wants there to be a 24-hour ceasefire so that longer truce can possibly happen later.

The leaders of the G-7 group made a statement on Tuesday asking for the fighting to stop and for both sides to go back to talking peacefully. Egypt’s president also said that he contacted both sides and asked them to stop fighting and try to work out their differences. But, sadly both generals have refused so far and are insisting that the other one give up.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s head of foreign affairs, tweeted that the EU ambassador to Sudan recently got attacked in his home. Nobody from the EU commented about it yet.

Dagalo’s troops began as the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s Darfur region. Dagalo claims that he is defending democracy, but his rival Burhan is a “radical Islamist”. Both generals have committed many human rights violations and their forces are trying to stop pro-democracy activists.

Fighting has been happening in Khartoum and Omdurman with thousands of troops taking up positions in almost all neighborhoods. Twelve hospitals in the capital city have had to be evacuated because of attacks or lack of electricity. An additional four hospitals outside the capital are no longer working either.

Hadia Saeed and her three kids were hiding in one room in their house to be safe from the bombing and gunshots they heard coming from Bahri district in north Khartoum. They had enough food for a few more days, but after then they didn’t know what will happen.

Monday afternoon, people living in the Gabra neighborhood near Khartoum reported hearing loud fighting and yells close by. Dr. Asmaa al-Toum said the sound of artillery and heavy weapons was coming from people’s homes, trapping them inside. The battle is getting worst around military bases, government buildings, and other residential areas.

The army said they had taken control of the main TV building in Omdurman and stopped the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) after a few days of fighting. Sudan TV started broadcasting again too.

On Sunday, the RSF (an armed force) said it had to leave its base in Omdurman. On Monday, videos were posted that showed the bodies of many men said to be RSF fighters at their abandoned base. We can’t know if these videos are true or not.

The military and RSF were fighting in a lot of places around Sudan. This includes the west side (Darfur region) and northern and eastern border near Ethiopia and Egypt. On Monday, there was a battle for an important airbase in Merowe which is about 215 miles away from the capital city. Not long ago, 4 years ago to be exact, people in Sudan worked together to bring down a ruler and this brought hope to everyone.

The politics since the coup in 2021 have caused a lot of problems to the country’s democratic progress and economy. Over 16 million people, out of the total population in this very wealthy African nation, now need help from aid organizations to survive.

Save the Children, a charity organization, has stopped most of its activities in Sudan. It was said that people broke into their offices in Darfur, took away medical materials, computers, vehicles and even a refrigerator. The World Food Program had to quit working when three of their employees were killed in Darfur. Lastly, the International Rescue Committee also ended most tasks for now.

The USA, the European Union and other African and Arab countries all want to stop the fighting. So, The United Nations Security Council is talking about it. Antonio Guterres, who is the Secretary-General of the UN, is trying to get help from the Arab League, African Union and other people with important power so that peace can be found. Magdy reported about this from Cairo.