Dozens killed as army, rivals battle for control of Sudan

Smoke rises in a neighbourhood in Khartoum, Saturday. Pic/AP

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.

A doctors' group said that at least 56 civilians were killed and that it believed there were dozens of additional deaths among the rival forces. The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate said close to 600 people were wounded, including civilians and fighters.

The clashes capped months of heightened tensions between the military and its partner-turned-rival, the Rapid Support Forces group. Those tensions had delayed a deal with political parties to get the country back to its short-lived transition to democracy, which was derailed by an October 2021 military coup.

Heavy fighting raged Sunday in the capital of Khartoum and the adjoining city of Omdurman, There were fierce clashes around the military headquarters, Khartoum International Airport and state television headquarters, said Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate.

"The battles have not stopped," she said from her family home close to the military headquarters. "They are shooting against each other in the streets. It's an all-out war in residential areas."

Abass said 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.

Military jets also pounded RSF bases across the capital.

Fighting was also reported in the western Darfur region where tens of thousands of people live in camps for displaced people after years of genocidal civil war.
The military and the RSF both claimed to be in control of strategic locations in Khartoum and elsewhere in the county. Their claims couldn't be independently verified.

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

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