Explosions and gunfire were heard around Sudan’s capital on Saturday, AFP correspondents and witnesses said, reporting “clashes” and heavy explosions and gunfire near a base occupied by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in southern Khartoum. AFP reporters heard gunfire near Khartoum airport, as well as in northern Khartoum.
At the heart of this dispute between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces is a proposed transition to civilian government.
Sudanese paramilitaries said on Saturday they had taken control of several key sites after clashes with the regular army, including the presidential palace in central Khartoum. In a statement, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they had “full control” of the presidential palace and airports in Khartoum and Merowe in the north of the country.
The same source said these actions were in response to regular army attacks on RSF bases in southern Khartoum.
“The Rapid Support Forces were surprised this morning, Saturday, April 15, by a large unit of the armed forces breaking into the armed forces headquarters at the Soba camp in Khartoum,” the group said in a statement.
The group said the army had “besieged the troops present to attack them with all kinds of heavy and light weapons,” the statement, quoted by the Spanish agency EFE, reads.
Al Jazeera television, based in Qatar, has shown live footage from some parts of the capital Khartoum, where shots and explosions can be heard, with much smoke visible, including near the presidential palace.
There are also reports of fighting in other cities in the African country.
The RSF is led by the deputy chairman of the Sovereign Council and number two in the army, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Two days ago, the Sudanese military warned that the country was experiencing a “dangerous situation” that could lead to armed conflict.
The Sudanese army, for its part, had already accused on Saturday that paramilitaries had attacked their bases in Khartoum and elsewhere. “Rapid Support Forces fighters attacked several army camps in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan,” army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah told AFP. “The clashes are ongoing and the army is fulfilling its duty to protect the country.”
Source: DN
