A month into Sudan’s brutal war, no end in sight
KHARTOUM: The Sudanese army carried out air strikes on Monday along the River Nile in the north of the capital Khartoum as it fought to push back its paramilitary rivals ater a month of warfare, witnesses said.
Intense batles in Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman have raged despite Saudi and Us-brokered talks between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Red Sea city of Jeddah aimed at securing humanitarian access and an effective ceasefire.
The fighting has spread to the western region of Darfur, already scarred by a long-running conflict, but has been concentrated in the capital, where RSF fighters have taken up positions across neighbourhoods and the army has used air strikes and heavy artillery fire to target them.
“We’re under heavy bombardment now in Sharq el-nil and Rapid Support are responding with anti-aircrat guns,” said 55-year-old Awatef Saleh, referring to the area she lives along the Nile in Bahri.
“All this is happening near our homes, we’re in a state of terror and fear.”
RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, dismissed rumours that he had been killed or injured in the batles.
“I am moving freely around my forces, I am present in Bahri, I am present in Omdurman, I am present in Khartoum, I am present in Sharq al-nil,” Hemedti said in a voice message released by the RSF.
“They are spreading rumours that Mohamed Hamdan has been killed, and these are all lies that show that they are being defeated... I am thank God present with the troops,” he said.
Army leader General Abdel Fatah Al Burhan and Hemedti held the top positions on Sudan’s ruling council following the 2019 overthrow of Omar Al Bashir, and staged a coup two years later as a deadline to hand power to civilians approached.
The war broke out ater disputes over plans for the RSF to be absorbed into the army and the chain of command in a new political transition.
It has caused about 200,000 to flee into neighbouring countries and more than 700,000 have been displaced inside Sudan, triggering a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the region.
Those who have remained in Khartoum have been struggling to survive amid the fighting as health services have collapsed, power and water supplies have been cut, and food stocks have dwindled.