Sustained gunfire erupted in the Sudanese capital on Saturday amid simmering tensions between the army and the country’s powerful paramilitary forces.
The sounds of heavy gunfire could be heard in several areas, including downtown Khartoum and the Bahri neighborhood.
In a series of statements, the Rapid Support Forces militia accused the army of attacking its forces at one of its bases in southern Khartoum, saying they had seized the city’s airport and had «complete control» of the Republican Palace. Khartoum, seat of the country’s presidency.
The group also said it seized an airport and airbase in the northern city of Marawi, some 215 miles northwest of Khartoum. The Associated Press was unable to verify those claims.
In a separate statement on Saturday, the Sudanese army said fighting broke out after RSF troops tried to attack its forces in the southern part of the capital. In a subsequent statement, the military declared the RSF a «rebel force,» describing the paramilitaries’ statements as «lies.»
The clashes occurred as tensions between the army and the RSF have increased in recent months, forcing the signing of an internationally endorsed agreement with political parties to reactivate the country’s democratic transition to be delayed.
Commercial planes attempting to land at Khartoum International Airport began to turn around to return to their home airport. Flights from Saudi Arabia returned after nearly landing at Khartoum International Airport, flight tracking data showed on Saturday.
The tensions between the army and the paramilitaries stem from a disagreement over how the RSF, led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, should be integrated into the armed forces and which authority should oversee the process. The merger is a key condition of Sudan’s unsigned transition deal.
However, the rivalry between the army and the RSF dates back to the rule of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in 2019. Under the former president, the paramilitary force grew out of former militias known as janjaweed that carried out brutal repression in the Darfur region of Sudan during the decades of conflict there.
In a rare televised speech on Thursday, a top army general warned of potential clashes with paramilitary forces, accusing them of deploying forces in Khartoum and other areas of Sudan without the army’s consent. The RSF defended the presence of its forces in an earlier statement.
The RSF recently deployed troops near the northern Sudanese town of Merowe. In addition, videos circulating on social media on Thursday show what appear to be RSF-armed vehicles being transported to Khartoum further south.
The US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, wrote online that he was «currently sheltering in place with the embassy team, as Sudanese are doing throughout Khartoum and elsewhere.»
“The escalation of tensions within the military component to lead the fight is extremely dangerous,” Godfrey wrote. «I urgently call on high-ranking military leaders to stop the fighting.»
In Saturday’s statement, RSF said it had been contacted by three former rebel leaders who hold government posts in an apparent attempt to de-escalate the conflict.
Sudan has been married in crisis since October 2021. Western-backed power-sharing administration and frustrated Sudanese aspirations for democratic rule after three decades of autocracy and repression under Islamist ruler al-Bashir.