By Ruzeki and Faith, Shadow News
Updated at 6:30 AM of Sunday, April 16, 2023
Khartoum, Sudan— A power struggle between the army and a paramilitary force has rocked Sudan, with at least 60 civilians reported dead and thousands injured.
Om Saturday, civilians dodged gunfire in the capital, Khartoum, as rival forces battled over the presidential palace, state TV, and army headquarters.
The recent clashes erupted after tensions over a proposed transition to civilian rule.
Both the army and its opponents, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), claimed they had control of the airport and other key sites in Khartoum, where fighting continued overnight.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, heavy artillery was heard in Omdurman, which adjoins Khartoum, and nearby Bahri. Heavy gunfire in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan has also be reported.
The army jets were hitting RSF bases, and the country's air force told people to remain in their homes on Saturday night while it conducted a full aerial survey of paramilitary activity.
The fighting is between army units loyal to the de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Sudan's deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (aka Hemedti).
Hemedti said his RSF troops would keep fighting until all army bases were captured.
In response, Sudan's armed forces ruled out negotiations until the dissolution of the paramilitary RSF.
The AU, the UN, IGAD, the EU, the UK, the US, Russia and China have all called for an immediate ceasefire.
The UN's secretary general Antonio Guteres spoke to General Dagalo and General Burhan urging them to end the bloodshed.
On Saturday, the RSF claimed control of at least three airports, the army chief's residence and the presidential palace, but Gen Burhan denied this in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
The military confirmed that the RSF fighters have been attacking army camps and trying to seize the military headquarters. In retaliation, the army conducted several airstrikes on the RSF bases.
The RSF released a video showing Egyptian troops captured in Merowe. The Egyptian military said its troops were in Sudan to conduct exercises with their Sudanese counterparts and that it was co-ordinating with Sudanese authorities to guarantee the safety of its personnel.
Generals run Sudan through the Sovereign Council. General Burhan is the president, while Hemedti is the vice-president.
A proposed move to a civilian-led government has foundered on the timetable to integrate the RSF into the army. The RSF wanted to delay it for 10 years, but the army said it should happen in two years.
International and regional leaders had urged the two sides to de-escalate tensions and go back to a peaceful resolution aimed at restoring civilian rule.
The 2021 coup ended a period of more than two years when military and civilian leaders were sharing power. That deal came after Sudan's long-term President Omar Al-Bashir was overthrown.
Since the coup, there have been regular pro-democracy protests in Khartoum and other cities.
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