Clashes continue in conflict-torn Sudan

By Behram Abdelmunim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Military clashes renewed on Saturday between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in the capital Khartoum, according to witnesses.

Sounds of artillery shelling and fighting with heavy and light weapons were heard in the cities of Omdurman and Bahri, west and north of Khartoum, witnesses said.

Jet fighters were also seen flying over the southern side of the Sudanese capital. Billows of smoke were seen rising from several areas in the city.

No information was yet available about casualties.

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, in a conflict that killed nearly 3,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that nearly three million people have been displaced by the current conflict in Sudan.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the warring rivals had failed to end violence in the country.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since fall 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara