Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Saturday they had taken control of the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief and Khartoum International Airport as clashes erupted with the army in an escalating power struggle amid talks on its integration into the military under a transition plan that would lead to new elections.
The RSF, which accused the army of attacking them first, also said they had seized the airports in the northern city of Merowe and in El-Obeid in the west.
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.
The Sudanese army said fighting broke out after RSF troops tried to attack its forces in the southern part of the capital. Later, the military declared the RSF a “rebel force,” describing the paramilitary’s statements as “lies.”
The Sudanese air force is conducting operations against the RSF, the army said. Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum, but Reuters could not independently confirm the material.
Situation ‘fragile’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that the situation in Sudan was “fragile” but insisted there was still an opportunity to complete the transition to a civilian-led government. Speaking from Hanoi, Blinken said that some actors “may be pushing against that progress.”
Egypt and Saudi Arabia both released statements on Saturday expressing deep concern over the ongoing clashes.
Commercial aircraft trying to land at Khartoum International Airport began turning around to head back to their originating airports.
Flights from Saudi Arabia turned back after nearly landing at the airport, flight tracking data showed Saturday.
Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft in the sky above the capital, Khartoum, but Reuters could not independently confirm the material.
Gunfire could be heard in several parts of Khartoum, and eyewitnesses reporting shooting in adjoining cities.
U.S. ambassador sheltering in place
The U.S. ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, wrote online that he was “currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing.”
I just arrived late last night in Khartoum and woke up to the deeply disturbing sounds of gunfire and fighting. I am currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing. (1/2)
—@USAMBSudan
A Reuters journalist saw cannon and armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard the sound of heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of both the army and the RSF.
A prolonged confrontation between the RSF and the army could spell prolonged strife across a vast country already dealing with economic breakdown and flare-ups of tribal violence.
Earlier, the RSF, headed by former militia leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, said the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons.
The violence followed days of tension between the army and the RSF, a powerful paramilitary group. This had sparked concern about a confrontation that would undermine long-running efforts to return Sudan to civilian rule after power struggles and military coups.
Hemedti had put himself at the forefront of a planned transition toward democracy, unsettling fellow military rulers and triggering a mobilization of troops in the capital.
Long-simmering tensions
The rift between the forces came to the surface on Thursday, when the army said that recent movements, particularly in Merowe, by the RSF had taken place without co-ordination and were illegal.
The RSF said in a statement that actions by the leadership of the armed forces and “some officers” were an attack on its forces and were intended to create instability.
On Saturday there was a heavy exchange of gunfire in Merowe, eyewitnesses told Reuters.
A statement by the RSF on Saturday called the army’s actions a “brute assault” that should be condemned. It said the RSF had informed local and international mediators of developments.
The RSF, which together with the army overthrew long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019, began redeploying units in Khartoum and elsewhere amid talks last month on its integration into the military under a transition plan that would lead to new elections.
Hemedti, a former widely feared militia commander in Darfur, has been deputy leader of the ruling Sovereign Council headed by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan since 2019.
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