Violent clashes flare in conflict-torn Sudan

By Behram Abdelmunim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Violent clashes resumed between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) military group in the capital Khartoum on Monday, according to witnesses.

Clashes were reported near the Armored Corps Basic School in south Khartoum during which army forces used artillery shelling to push back RSF fighters, witnesses said.

Heavy fighting was also reported in the city of Bahri, north of Khartoum. Billows of smoke were seen rising from several areas in the city.

In the city of Omdurman, army forces launched a search operation for members of the paramilitary group, witnesses said.

There were no reports yet of casualties.

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the army and RSF since April in a conflict that has killed nearly 1,000 civilians and injured 5,000 others, according to local medics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that the conflict has displaced more than 2.5 million people.

Several cease-fire initiatives mediated by Saudi and US mediators had failed to halt the fighting between the two military rivals.

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 in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

Sudan's 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