The fighting in Khartoum, Omdurman, the capital of Sudan, recounted by Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate
There was fighting on Saturday when forces loyal to the Rapid support group clashed with forces of the Sudanese army chief.
Cyrus Paye, a coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in North Darfur, said in a statement that most of the wounded there were “civilians who were caught in the crossfire — among them are many children.”
The clashes capped months of heightened tensions between the military and its partner-turned-rival, the Rapid Support Forces group. Those tensions had delayed a deal with political parties to get the country back to its short-lived transition to democracy, which was derailed by an October 2021 military coup.
Heavy fighting raged early Sunday morning in the capital of Khartoum and the adjoining city of Omdurman, There were fierce clashes around the military headquarters, Khartoum International Airport and state television headquarters, said Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate.
She told us from her home that the battles had not stopped. They are shooting at each other in the street. It’s an all-out battle in residential areas.
Abass said that her family spent the night huddling on the ground floor. She said that there were so many explosions that the kids were crying and screaming. Sounds of gunfire were heard while she was speaking to The Associated Press.
The conflict in Sudan and the return to dialogue in the light of the U.N. Security Council resolution of the Darfur-Dagalo crisis
The military and the RSF both claimed to be in control of strategic locations in Khartoum and elsewhere in the county. Their claims couldn’t be independently verified.
Sources in Sudan’s civilian movement and Sudanese military sources told CNN the main points of contention included the timeline for the merger of the forces, the status given to RSF officers in the future hierarchy, and whether RSF forces should be under the command of the army chief, rather than Sudan’s commander-in-chief, who is currently Burhan.
The EU foreign policy chief, the head of the Arab League and the head of the African Union Commission all urged the sides to stop fighting. Members of the U.N. Security Council, at odds over other crises around the world, called for an immediate end of the hostilities and a return to dialogue.
The Secretary of State consulted with the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, he said. He said it was essential that hostilities ended without pre-condition.
At least 118 people were killed when the forces of Dagalo opened fire on an anti- Brienk sitin in Khartoum.
Eye witnesses told CNN on Monday they heard gunfire and mortars in the early morning hours, with the fighting intensifying after dawn prayers in the direction of the Sudanese Army garrison sites.
Residents told CNN that there were warplanes bombing sites east of the command. A witness said they saw an explosion and smoke on Obaid Khatim Street, and anti-aircraft cannon fired towards the planes.
The emergency medical facilities in Darfur, Sudan, as ruled by the army and the government of the rebellish dictatorship Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
“The hospital is rapidly running out of medical supplies to treat survivors,” Mr. Paye said. “It is running out of medicines and blood. There has also been a power outage in the city since the beginning of the fighting, and fuel supplies for the hospital generator are also running low.”
He speculated that the army chief and his rival, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had lost control of the military. When asked if his endgame was to rule Sudan, Dagalo said he had “no such intentions,” and that there should be a civilian government.
People have been told to stay indoors. One local resident was trapped in their own homes with little to no protection at all.
“All we can hear is continuous blast after blast. What exactly is happening and where we don’t know, but it feels like it’s directly over our heads,” they wrote.
The government-owned national TV channel is no longer on the air, so access to information is limited. Television employees told CNN that it is in the hands of the RSF.
A nation with 45 million people was in crisis, with one-third of them needing food aid. Now, the violence has forced aid groups to suspend operations. The United Nations World Food Program says three of its workers were killed.
UN and other humanitarian facilities in Darfur have been looted, while a WFP-managed aircraft was seriously damaged by gunfire in Khartoum, impeding the WFP’s ability to transport aid and workers within the country, the international aid agency said.
The famine in Sudan and the calls for a return to the civil society: a case study of the Al-Moallem hospital
Meanwhile, Mexico is working to evacuate its citizens from Sudan, with the country’s foreign minister saying Sunday it is looking to “expedite” their exit.
The United States Embassy in Sudan said that there weren’t any plans to evacuate Americans yet due to the shutting down of the Khartoum airport. It advised US citizens to stay indoors and shelter in place, adding that it would make an announcement “if evacuation of private US citizens becomes necessary.”
The fresh clashes have prompted widespread calls for peace and negotiations. The head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, is scheduled to arrive in Khartoum on Monday, in an attempt to stop the fighting.
“People in Sudan want the military back in the barracks, they want democracy, they want a civilian-led government. On the sidelines of the G 7 foreign minister talks in Japan, Blinken said that Sudan should return back to that path.
The UN’s political mission in Sudan has said the country’s two warring factions have agreed to a “proposal” although it is not yet clear what that entails.
The military leader of Sudan and his former deputy blamed one another for inciting the fighting that has engulfed the country.
Some patients have been left behind after staffers are forced to evacuate during intense shelling at the Al-Moallem hospital.
It’s unclear whether the RSF has taken control of the hospital as it attempts to take over the nearby army headquarters, a flashpoint in Khartoum’s violence.
A 6-year-old child died in the building, one medic said. There were two children who were wounded. As the shelling intensified, medics and patients huddled together in the corridor and prayed.
At first we were praying for salvation,” the medic said. After the shelling got worse, we started to ponder what would be the most painless part of the body to be shot in and decided to die painlessly.
“There was no electricity, no water there inside the hospital,” said a third medic. “None of our equipment was working, a woman sheltering with us had a two-day-old baby. I don’t even know what happened to her.”
Eman Abu Garjah, a Sudanese-British doctor based in Khartoum, said that food in the fridge and freezers has gone bad. “We don’t have any supplies at the moment, that’s why we’re trying to go somewhere where the shops are open.”
The morning prayers are done early, and after a little bit of sleep you have to wake up for the afternoon prayers. But sleep was just not possible. The house was rattling and the windows were shaking.”
The two sides of the conflict in Sudan are not allies: the Janjaweed Army headquarters turned into a battlefield after two generals battled for power
The two allies, Dagalo and Burhan, were no longer allies. The pair worked together to topple ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and played a pivotal role in the military coup in 2021.
A humanitarian ceasefire proposal was put forth and agreed to by both parties, said Burhan from army headquarters.
“Sadly, he did not abide by (the ceasefire),” he added. “You can hear right now the attempts to storm the Army headquarters, and indiscriminate mortar attacks. He is using the humanitarian pause to continue his fight.
“We’re under attack from all directions,” Dagalo told CNN’s Larry Madowo in a telephone interview on Sunday. He claimed that they had to keep fighting because they stopped fighting and the other side didn’t.
He was a leader of the notorious Janjaweed forces, who were accused of committing human rights violations and atrocities in Sudan.
International powers have expressed alarm at the current violence in Sudan. Apart from concerns over civilians there are likely other motivations at play, the country is resource-rich and strategically located. CNN has previously reported on how Russia has colluded with its military leaders to smuggle gold out of Sudan.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Even hospitals trying to help the wounded were no longer safe after two generals battled for power in Sudan on Monday.
The doctor of the emergency room at the Police hospital in Khartoum said that the hospital turned into a battlefield.
Sudanese Army, U.N., and the Emergency Assistance to the Third-largest country by Area: General Hamdan and the American Ambassador to Sudan
Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area.
Aid workers say that they are concerned by the situation outside the capital, especially in the western area of the Sudan, where the toll on civilians has been most evident.
The 28-year old mechanical engineer said everyone was afraid and he went out to try to charge his cellphone. “You can see it in their eyes. People are panicking.”
Only the army has aircraft and General Hamdan accused his opponent of bombing civilians from the air. The Sudanese Army said in a statement that it was “operating within the rules of conflict and international humanitarian law.”
The secretary general of the U.N. expressed concern after talking to both warring generals. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” he said.
As a result of the current situation, the American secretary of state has called for an immediate cease-fire and for the protection of civilians and people from third countries.
Mr. Perthes said that he had been talking to the leaders of the military groups daily and that they had made it clear that they didn’t want to end the fighting. They are, however, receptive to the idea of a “pause” to allow humanitarian access, he said.
He said in the statement that people across Sudan have been gripped with fear since Thursday and have to decide whether to face that fear or starve to death.
According to Western officials, the EU ambassador to Sudan was attacked at his home in Khartoum, and had money and guns taken.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/17/world/sudan-fighting-news/who-are-the-rapid-support-forces-the-paramilitary-group-fighting-the-sudanese-army
The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese army: Observations from Khartoum, Egypt, during the weekend fighting
The assailants were members of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries, identified by their uniforms, several officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The U.N. spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric. said that gunmen were forcing staff members out of their apartments in Khartoum and then operating out of them.
Observers were keeping their eye on Egypt, which has enmeshed itself deeply into the affairs of its neighbor, with concern growing that the conflict could entangle other nations.
Egypt has been fighting to keep a civilian-led democracy out of its southern part since pro-democracy protesters in Sudan forced the president to step down, according to analysts. Ruled by a military-backed government that came to power after its own antigovernment uprising in 2011, Egypt has sought to replicate similar leadership in Sudan.
Egyptian officials see a strongman as the best way of keeping its neighbor stable — and off a democratic path that could inspire Egyptians — and they have embraced General al-Burhan as an ally, especially after one Rapid Support Forces faction captured Egyptian soldiers and seven Egyptian warplanes over the weekend.
transit in and out of the country is difficult because of the fighting At the main airport in Khartoum, airplanes were targeted again on Monday as the rival military factions fought for control over critical infrastructure.
The New York Times, using satellite imagery, has identified 20 planes that have been destroyed or badly damaged at the airport since the conflict erupted.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/17/world/sudan-fighting-news/who-are-the-rapid-support-forces-the-paramilitary-group-fighting-the-sudanese-army
The city of Omdurman: a bustling city with no electricity, water or electricity left on the side of the urban road – claimed by the electrical engineer Mr Abuhurira
The city of Omdurman, northwest of the capital, was quiet on Monday with many people leaving their homes and traffic building in some areas. Many households, however, still lacked water or electricity.
In the capital, many residents found it safest to stay home. Mr Abuhurira, the electrical engineer who went to charge his phone on the street, claimed that in the half- hour he was out, he only encountered a few people.