Fighting in Sudan intensifies with heavy gunfire heard
Heavy gunfire has been heard in the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, as clashes erupt between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF said it had taken control of the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief and Khartoum international airport.
Video footage showed military planes flying over the city while smoke has been seen rising from buildings near the airport.
A Reuters witness said they saw armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard the sound of heavy weaponry in the vicinity of the headquarters of the army and the RSF.
The conflict follows days of tension between the army and the powerful RSF, which raised concerns about a confrontation.
The rift between the forces came to the surface on Thursday, when the army said recent movements by the RSF had been made without coordination and were illegal.
A statement by the RSF on Saturday called the army’s actions a “brute assault” and called for it to be condemned. It said the RSF had been in contact with local and international mediators to inform them.
A confrontation between the two forces could bring prolonged strife across a vast country already dealing with economic breakdown and flare-ups of tribal violence.
We’ll bring you live updates on a rapidly developing situation.
Key events
The UN’s special representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes, said he strongly condemned the eruption of fighting in the country.
Perthes said he has “has reached out to both parties asking them for an immediate cessation of fighting to ensure the safety of the Sudanese people and to spare the country from further violence”.
‘We feel extremely unsafe’ – Khartoum residents fearful amid fighting
Zeinab Mohammed Salih
Eissa Zain, 37, told the Guardian that while asleep at home in Khartoum’s Daim neighbourhood “something very hard hit the wall and I thought the fan had fallen down but it turned out to be an RPG [weapon].
We ran out of the house and the streets were full of people, but then everyone went inside their houses.
Osman Ali, a resident of Omdurman who works as a market vendor, added:
We feel extremely unsafe now, the leaders are fighting there but the problem is, who is going to protect us from looting or if any armed people stormed into the neighbourhoods?
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs representative, has called for an immediate pause to the fighting:
Alarming news of fighting in #Sudan. The EU calls on all forces to stop the violence immediately.
An escalation will only aggravate the situation. Protection of citizens is a priority.
All EU staff in the country is safe and accounted for.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 15, 2023
Here are some of the latest images coming through on the wires from Khartoum:
Situation in Sudan fragile, says US, as embassy staff take shelter
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said earlier today the situation in Sudan was delicate but insisted there was still an opportunity to complete the transition to a civilian-led government.
Speaking from Hanoi, Blinken said the situation was “fragile” as some actors “may be pushing against that progress”.
The US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, said he and embassy staff had been forced to take shelter.
He said the escalation of tensions to direct fighting was “extremely dangerous” and he called urgently on the senior leadership to stop the clashes.
Russia’s embassy in Sudan, meanwhile, has said it is concerned by an “escalation of violence” in the country and called for a ceasefire and negotiations.
According to the state-owned Russian news agency RIA, the embassy said the atmosphere in Khartoum was tense but Russian diplomats were safe.
UK embassy in Sudan warns citizens to stay indoors
Britain’s embassy in Sudan is urging its nationals there to remain indoors and said it is closely monitoring the situation after paramilitaries said they had taken control of the presidential palace and other sites.
We are closely monitoring the situation in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan where there are ongoing military clashes.
We advise all British nationals in Sudan to remain indoors and follow our travel advice for more updates.
Fighting in Sudan intensifies with heavy gunfire heard
Heavy gunfire has been heard in the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, as clashes erupt between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF said it had taken control of the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief and Khartoum international airport.
Video footage showed military planes flying over the city while smoke has been seen rising from buildings near the airport.
A Reuters witness said they saw armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard the sound of heavy weaponry in the vicinity of the headquarters of the army and the RSF.
The conflict follows days of tension between the army and the powerful RSF, which raised concerns about a confrontation.
The rift between the forces came to the surface on Thursday, when the army said recent movements by the RSF had been made without coordination and were illegal.
A statement by the RSF on Saturday called the army’s actions a “brute assault” and called for it to be condemned. It said the RSF had been in contact with local and international mediators to inform them.
A confrontation between the two forces could bring prolonged strife across a vast country already dealing with economic breakdown and flare-ups of tribal violence.
We’ll bring you live updates on a rapidly developing situation.
