AIR STRIKES HAMMER KHARTOUM

…as army chief drops RSF foe from Sudan's ruling council

KHARTOUM - Sudan's capital Khartoum and sister city Bahri came under renewed air attack yesterday as the war between the army and paramilitary forces entered its fifth week, deepening a humanitarian crisis for trapped and displaced civilians.

Mass looting by armed men and civilians alike is making life an even greater misery for Khartoum residents pinned down by fierce fighting between the regular military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), witnesses said. The conflict has displaced an estimated 843, 000 people within Sudan and put around 250, 000 to flight into neighbouring countries, the United Nations refugee agency said yesterday.

Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took the long-anticipated step yesterday of removing RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, from his post as his deputy on the ruling Sovereign Council.

The two had run the council since 2019 when they overthrew strongman President Omar al-Bashir amid mass protests against his rule, before staging a coup in 2021 as a deadline neared to hand power to civilians for a transition towards free elections.

Fighting broke out on April 15 after disputes over plans for the RSF to be integrated into the army and over the future chain of command under an internationally backed deal to shift Sudan towards democracy after decades of conflict-ridden autocracy.

Burhan installed Malik Agar, leader of an armed group that had signed a peace agreement with the government in 2020, as Hemedti's replacement.