Sudan tense after army-paramilitary clashes

Khartoum, April 15

A Sudanese doctors’ group said at least three persons were killed and dozens more injured in clashes that started Saturday between the country’s army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group.

The fighting comes after months of escalating tensions between the generals and years of political unrest after an October 2021 military coup.

In a statement, the Sudan Doctors’ Committee said two civilians were killed at the country’s airport and another man was shot to death in the state of North Kordofan. The statement did not specify how the two people had died at the airport, which was a flashpoint in the recent violence, with the two forces battling to control it.

The group added that dozens more were injured around the country, with some in unstable condition. The clashes began Saturday morning, with both sides blaming the other for initiating the violence. Fierce clashes erupted on Saturday in the capital and elsewhere in the African nation, raising fears of a wider conflict in the chaos-stricken country.

In Khartoum, the sound of heavy firing could be heard in a number of areas, including the city center and the neighborhood of Bahri.

In a series of statements, the Rapid Support Forces militia accused the army of attacking its forces at one of its bases in south Khartoum. They claimed they seized the city’s airport and “completely controlled” Khartoum’s Republican Palace, the seat of the country’s presidency. The group also said it seized an airport and air base in the northern city of Merowe some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of Khartoum.

The Sudanese army said fighting broke out after RSF troops tried to attack its forces in the southern part of the capital, accusing the group of trying to take control of strategic locations in Khartoum, including the palace. The military also declared the RSF a rebel force and described the paramilitary’s statements as “lies.” A military official said that fighter jets took off from a military base north of Omdurman and attacked the RSF’s positions in and around Khartoum. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The clashes came as tensions between the military and the RSF have escalated in recent months, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally backed deal with political parties to revive the country’s democratic transition.

Saudi Arabia’s national airline said one of its Airbus A330s was involved in “an accident” at Khartoum International Airport. — AP