Reports indicate that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken over the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief, and Khartoum international airport on Saturday in an apparent coup attempt.
Clashes erupted following accusations by the RSF that the army attacked it first. The RSF said it has seized the airports in the western city of El-Obeid and Merowe in the north.
According to the army, the Sudanese air force is currently engaged in operations against the RSF. Footages showed a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum, but News Central has not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of the material.
Gunfire has been reported in various parts of Khartoum, with eyewitnesses also reporting shooting in neighbouring cities. A Reuters journalist witnessed the deployment of cannon and armored vehicles in the streets, as well as heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of the army and RSF.
Reports from doctors indicate that clashes have occurred in residential areas, resulting in civilian injuries.
The army claims that the paramilitary’s attempted to attack its troops in multiple positions, following witnesses’ reports of heavy gunfire in different parts of the country, heightening concerns of a full-scale conflict.
The RSF, which analysts estimate to have a strength of 100,000, has stated that its forces were attacked first by the army. Earlier, the RSF, led by former militia leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, alleged that the army had surrounded one of its bases and initiated heavy weapons fire.
If the confrontation between the RSF and the army prolongs, it could significantly exacerbate the security situation in a country already grappling with economic breakdown and tribal violence outbreaks.
Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF called on them to cease hostilities. Separately, the Russian and U.S. embassies also called for an end to the violence.
The hostilities followed days of tension between the army and the RSF, which could undermine long-running efforts to return Sudan to civilian rule after power struggles and military coups.
Hemedti, once one of the most feared militia leaders in Darfur, had put himself at the forefront of a planned transition towards democracy, unsettling fellow military rulers and triggering a mobilisation of troops in the capital Khartoum.
The rift between the forces came to the surface on Thursday when the army said that recent movements, particularly in Merowe, by the RSF were illegal.