Dozens killed as army and rivals battle for control of Sudan

The Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group battled for control of the chaos-stricken nation for a second day Sunday, signaling they were unwilling to end hostilities despite mounting diplomatic pressure to cease fire.

Heavy fighting involving armored vehicles, truck-mounted machine guns and warplanes raged Sunday in the capital, Khartoum, the adjoining city of Omdurman and elsewhere across the country. The rival forces are believed to have tens of thousands of fighters each in the capital alone.

At least five civilians were killed and 78 wounded Sunday, bringing the two-day toll to 61 dead and more than 670 wounded, said the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate. The group said it believes there were dozens of additional deaths among the rival forces.

The clashes are part of a power struggle between Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces group, or RSF. The two generals are former allies who jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup that derailed Sudan’s short-lived transition to democracy.

In recent months, internationally backed negotiations revived hopes for such a transition, but growing tensions between Burhan and Dagalo eventually delayed a deal with political parties.

Volker Perthes, the United Nations envoy for Sudan, said that both Burhan and Dagalo agreed to a three-hour humanitarian pause in fighting in the late afternoon Sunday, but violence continued to engulf the capital.

As night fell, residents reported heavy explosions and continued gunfire, as well as airstrikes pounding RSF targets. The clashes come as most Sudanese are preparing to celebrate the holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally fast from sunrise to sunset.

Fighting raged around the military headquarters throughout the day. “Heavy explosions and gunfire around the clock,” said Amany Sayed, a 38-year-old Khartoum resident. “The battles here [in the capital] never stopped.”

In Khartoum and Omdurman, fighting was reported around the military headquarters, Khartoum International Airport and state television headquarters. A senior military official said that RSF fighters clashed with troops at military headquarters early Sunday and that a fire broke out at a facility for ground troops.

“The battles have not stopped,” said prominent rights advocate Tahani Abass, who lives near the military headquarters. “They are shooting against each other in the streets. It’s an all-out war in residential areas.”

Abass said she and her family spent the night huddling on the ground floor of their home. “No one was able to sleep, and the kids were crying and screaming with every explosion,” she said. Sounds of gunfire were heard while she was speaking to the Associated Press.

The military and the RSF both claimed to be in control of strategic locations in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. Their claims couldn’t be independently verified.

Both sides signaled late Saturday that they were unwilling to negotiate.

Burhan called for dismantling the RSF, which it labeled a “rebellious militia.” Dagalo told the satellite news network Al Arabyia that he ruled out negotiations. He called on Burhan to surrender.

Meanwhile, international pressure appeared to be mounting.

Top diplomats, including the U.S. secretary of State, the U.N. secretary-general, the European Union foreign policy chief, the head of the Arab League and the head of the African Union Commission urged the sides to stop fighting. Members of the U.N. Security Council, at odds over other crises around the world, called for an immediate end to the hostilities and a return to dialogue.

Arab states with stakes in Sudan — Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — made similar appeals.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said he consulted with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “We agreed it was essential for the parties to immediately end hostilities without pre-condition,” he said in a statement early Sunday.

The rival forces were fighting in several locations across Sudan, including the western region of Darfur, where tens of thousands of people live in camps for the displaced after years of genocidal civil war.

In North Darfur state, dozens were killed and wounded since Saturday at a camp for displaced people, said Adam Regal, a spokesman for a Darfur charity.

In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, the two sides fought for control of the city’s airport, said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

The official said fighting also spread to the eastern region, including the states of Kassala and Qadarif on the borders with Ethiopia and Eritrea. He said battles were focused on RSF and army bases.

The Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate appealed to international humanitarian and medical organizations to support medical facilities in the country. The group also called on the international community to press both sides to ensure safe passage for ambulances and medical personnel.

The recent tensions stem from disagreement over how the RSF, headed by Dagalo, should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee the process. The merger is a key condition of Sudan’s unsigned transition agreement with political groups.

Pro-democracy activists have blamed Burhan and Dagalo for abuses against protesters across the country over the last four years, including the deadly breakup of a protest camp outside military headquarters in Khartoum in June 2019 that killed more than 120 demonstrators. Many groups have repeatedly called for holding the two leaders accountable. The RSF has long been accused of atrocities linked to the Darfur conflict.

Sudan, a country at the crossroads of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, is known for its history of military coups and civil conflicts since it gained independence in 1950s.

The country borders six African nations and has a strategic coastline on the Red Sea. A decade-old civil conflict resulted in the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

The clashes will increase hardship in Sudan, where the U.N. says about 16 million people — or one-third of the population — already depend on humanitarian assistance.