Clashes resume in conflict-torn Sudan

By Behram Abdelmunim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Violent 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 reported in the cities of Omdurman and Bahri, west and north of Khartoum, witnesses said.

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

Military sources said army forces repelled an RSF attack on its headquarters south of Khartoum.

According to the sources, casualties were reported among RSF fighters.

There was no confirmation yet from the paramilitary group.

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, in a conflict that killed nearly 1,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 2.2 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.

Disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF over integration of the paramilitary group into the armed forces — a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

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