Fighting rattles Sudan’s capital as residents try to flee

On Thursday, residents of Sudan’s capital reported renewed heavy gunfire as thousands fled conflict that has killed scores of civilians before Eid, the conclusion of Ramadan.

Khartoum and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri, one of Africa’s most populous urban centers, have been shaken by army-RSF fighting this week. Food is scarce for thousands of locals and travelers stranded.

TV feeds from Khartoum revealed that the smoke and explosions of previous days cleared early on Thursday before the fighting resumed.

Gunfire was heard in Bahri, and residents reported confrontations west of Omdurman where the army blocked RSF reinforcements. Both sides breached a 24-hour ceasefire they had agreed to begin Wednesday.

The RSF said it was attacked in Omdurman and shot down two army helicopters in reprisal. RSF accusations were unconfirmed by Reuters.

The army controls Khartoum access with artillery and fighter planes. Residents and witnesses say it tried to cut RSF supply routes.

Residents and social media posts say thousands have left the capital, with most passing checkpoints but some being stopped.

“There’s no food, supermarkets are empty, the situation isn’t safe, honestly, so people are leaving,” said Khartoum resident Abdelmalek.

Hospitals reported bullet-shattered windows and unburied dead. Residents reported rising fresh food prices.

The power fight in Sudan, which borders Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Africa’s dangerous Sahel area, might escalate regional tensions.

The RSF released Egyptian troops it took at the northern Merowe outpost at the weekend, and western neighbor Chad reported it stopped and disarmed a Sudanese contingent of 320 soldiers on Monday, among thousands of fleeing from Darfur.

“POWER GRAB”
Since Saturday, combat has been fiercest around the army HQ and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s apartment.

Burhan accused RSF head General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, until last week his deputy on the military council that has ruled since a coup two years ago, of “a power grab”. Since Omar al-Bashir’s departure four years earlier, the two men had maintained a precarious partnership.

Burhan told the Financial Times that the RSF was “out of control” and that its fighters looted and attacked foreign embassies and charity workers.

Washington suspected RSF of attacking its diplomats, and witnesses said RSF militants have looted and attacked relief workers.

Dagalo, known as Hemedti, told the FT that the military was responsible for attacks on hospitals, non-military targets, and “diplomats and guests.”

Analysts think Hemedti may command more than 100,000 fighters from the feared janjaweed militias charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court in Darfur’s 2003 crisis, which displaced over 2 million people.

Hemedti, whose soldiers allegedly killed scores of demonstrators in 2019, has not been charged by the ICC. He denies directing the attack.

International powers, trying to evacuate citizens from the airport and embassy sectors, have been calling for truces.

US personnel were sheltering and private residents were “not currently safe” to flee.

Japan’s defence minister put military transport aircraft in Djibouti on Thursday to rescue 63 individuals. Japanese media stated Tokyo is contemplating land transit.

Jakarta claimed more than 1,200 Indonesians, largely students, were in Sudan, and conflict, notably outside their university, was hindering their return.

Darfur fighting
Disagreement over an internationally supported proposal to construct a civilian administration and integrate the RSF into the military sparked the bloodshed. Both parties claim the other thwarted the changeover.

The two military factions are battling in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan.

On Thursday, Antonio Guterres will meet with African Union, Arab League, and other leaders to examine the situation.

Before the war, 25% of Sudanese were starving. After three workers died Saturday, the World Food Programme halted one of its major global operations in the country.