Sudan: Army and paramilitary force claim control of key sites

At least three have died as Sudan’s army and a notorious paramilitary force battle with heavy weapons in the capital Khartoum amid tensions over a proposed transition to civilian rule.

Video showed a civilian plane ablaze at Khartoum airport. Saudi airline Saudia said its airbus “had an accident”.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it controls airports and other key sites. The army denies this and says jets are hitting RSF bases.

People are sheltering from the clashes.

“Shooting is still ongoing and people are staying indoors – there is so much panic and fear,” an eyewitness told the BBC via her Kenya-based sister.

Residents had not been expecting the clashes, she said, and many had been caught in transit. with bridges and roads closed and many schools in lockdown.

Duaa Tariq was speaking to the BBC when a military plane flew over her building – “They’re shooting live ammunition at the roof of the house next door and we’re just now taking shelter,” she said.

US Ambassador John Godfrey said he “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”. He urged senior military leaders to stop the fighting.

Russia’s embassy was also concerned by the “escalation of violence” and urged a ceasefire, Reuters reports.

The RSF claims control of at least three airports, the army chief’s residence and the presidential palace. There are also reports of clashes at the state TV station.

RSF commander Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, told al-Jazeera that he would fight on until all army bases had been captured.

He said army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was a “criminal” and would either be killed or “face justice”.

Earlier the RSF had said that one of its camps in the south of Khartoum had been attacked.

For its part, the army has said that RSF fighters have been trying to seize the military headquarters.

“Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces attacked several army camps in Khartoum and elsewhere around Sudan,” the AFP news agency quotes army spokesman Brig Gen Nabil Abdallah as saying.

“Clashes are ongoing and the army is carrying out its duty to safeguard the country.”

The Reuters news agency is also citing witnesses as saying that there was gunfire in the northern city of Merowe. The RSF deployed forces near that base on Thursday as tensions increased.

Generals have been running the country, through what is called the Sovereign Council, since a coup in October 2021.

Gen Burhan is president of the council while Hemedti is its vice-president.

But a proposed move to a civilian-led government has foundered on the timetable to integrate the RSF into the national army – the RSF wanted to delay it for 10 years, but the army said it should happen in two years.

Hemedti was a key figure in the conflict in Darfur that began in 2003 and has left hundreds of thousands dead. @ bbc.com

More to follow…