KHARTOUM: Sudan is again in turmoil as deadly fighting erupts between the regular army and paramilitaries. The army claimed that it had launched air strikes against the paramilitaries, which it accused of burning civilian airliners at Khartoum airport.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, denied the claims and instead stated that they were in control of the presidential palace and the airport.
The eruption of violence follows weeks of deepening tensions between military head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the Rapid Support Forces into the regular army.
The clashes, which have already claimed the lives of three civilians and left at least nine others injured, have sparked global concern.
The United Nations, African Union, Arab League, European Union, and Russia’s foreign ministry have all called for an immediate ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed his concern and urged both sides to “stop the violence immediately.”
Emergence of Rapid Support Forces in Sudan
The Rapid Support Forces emerged from the Janjaweed militia that former President Omar al-Bashir unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minority groups in the western Darfur region a decade earlier, drawing serious accusations of war crimes.
The paramilitaries’ integration into the regular army was seen as a key element in talks to finalize an agreement that would return the country to civilian rule and end the ongoing crisis sparked by the 2021 coup, which triggered a growing economic crisis in what was already one of the world’s poorest countries.
The clashes have forced the postponement of the signing of an agreement with civilian factions that set out a roadmap for restoring the democratic transition disrupted by the coup.
The two sides have traded blame for starting the fighting, with the RSF claiming that they were surprised by a large force from the army entering their camps, while the army accused the paramilitaries of attacking several army camps.
As the fighting continues, civilians in Sudan fear that the country is slipping into a state of total collapse.
The military’s civilian interlocutors have called on both sides to cease hostilities immediately and prevent the country from sliding further into the abyss.
Western governments have also warned of the dangers of fighting between the rival security forces.
