UPDATE 5 - 25 killed as fighting breaks out in Sudanese capital

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Fighting killed at least 25 people Saturday when clashes erupted between Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital, Khartoum.

The Sudan Doctors Committee said 183 were also injured in Khartoum and other cities.

Gunfire and bombs were heard near the army headquarters and presidential palace, according to an Anadolu reporter in Khartoum.

In a statement, the RSF accused the army of attacking its forces south of Khartoum with light and heavy weapons. The paramilitary force called the army’s action a “brutal assault”, saying it had informed local and international mediators of the developments.

The RSF also claimed that its forces had taken control of Khartoum airport, the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief and Merowe military base in northern Sudan.

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, claimed that his forces have taken the Khartoum airport and the presidential palace.

Speaking to Al Jazeera television, Hemedti described army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as a criminal and corrupt who killed the Sudanese people, vowing to end this war in the coming few days.

For its part, the Sudanese army accused the RSF fighters of attempting to attack its forces south of Khartoum.

“The rebel RSF spreads lies about our forces attacking them, to cover up their rebellious behavior,” the statement said, declaring the paramilitary force a “rebel” group.

According to witnesses, the Sudanese army carried out airstrikes on RSF bases in the capital Khartoum.

Witnesses said military warplanes struck RSF bases in Riyahd and Bahri neighborhoods east and north of Khartoum.

The Sudanese army also denied the RSF claim of taking major sites in the capital, saying its forces had confronted the RSF attacks against the presidential palace, Khartoum airport and al-Burhan’s residence.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said the RSF attacked Khartoum International Airport and shot down a Saudi Arabian Airlines passenger plane and a Sudanese plane.

The ministry said in a statement that Sudanese armed forces succeeded in clearing the RSF presence in and around the airport.

After clashes erupted the RSF shared a video they said showed Egyptian troops who had “surrendered” in Merowe, about halfway between Khartoum and the border with Egypt. Egypt’s military said Egyptian forces were in Sudan to conduct exercises with their Sudanese counterparts. It said it was coordinating with Sudanese authorities to guarantee the soldiers safety.

The Egyptian army said the soldiers were in Sudan as part of the military exercises.

The statement also called for the security of Egyptian forces in Sudan.

The dispute between the army and SRF came to the surface on Thursday when the military said recent movements by the RSF had happened without coordination and were illegal, with their rift centering around a proposed transition to civilian rule.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency

Last December, Sudan’s military and political forces signed a framework agreement to resolve the months-long crisis.

The signing of the final agreement was scheduled to take place on April 6, but was delayed. No date has been announced for the signing of the deal.

Sudan’s transitional period which started in August 2019 was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Ahmed Asmar, Ikram Kouachi, Gozde Bayar contributed to this story from Ankara