Violent clashes resume in Sudanese capital Khartoum

By Bahram Abdel Moneim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group on Friday in the capital Khartoum, a day after the suspension of negotiations in the Saudi city of Jeddah between the two sides.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that heavy clashes broke out in the city of Omdurman, west of Khartoum.

The military aircraft strikes and artillery bombardment continued in the area south of Khartoum as well, according to witnesses.

Clashes are still taking place in the vicinity of the Tiba camp, the largest RSF headquarters, south of the Sudanese capital, they added.

A seven-day cease-fire brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US between the two sides expired on Monday. The conflicting rivals agreed to extend the agreement for five more days, but peace talks broke down Wednesday when the SAF announced its withdrawal, claiming the RSF failed to implement "any of the terms of the agreement and continued violation of the cease-fire."

The decision came as fierce clashes erupted between the military and RSF fighters in the national capital of Khartoum and El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

The US announced on Thursday an initial wave of sanctions targeting actors in Sudan after talks between the Sudanese military and a rival paramilitary force collapsed.

The recent violence in Sudan has left at least 863 civilians dead and thousands injured since April 15, the Sudan Doctors Syndicate said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than a million people have been internally displaced by the conflict.

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

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 in Ankara