Sudan’s military appears to have gained the upper hand in a bloody power struggle with rival Rapid Support Force units on Sunday after launching airstrikes on their bases, eyewitnesses said; at least 59 civilians were killed, including three UN staff.
Fighting broke out last Saturday between army units led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s Sovereign Transitional Council, and the Rapid Support Force (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is the deputy head of the council.
It was the first such outbreak since the parties joined forces to oust Islamist autocrat Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019 and was fueled by disagreements over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces in in the context of the transition to civilian rule.
Burhan and Dagalo agreed on Sunday to a three-hour humanitarian break from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, proposed by the UN, the UN mission in Sudan said, and both sides confirmed this in their statements. .
At first it seemed the shelling in central Khartoum had died down, but soon the shelling resumed, an eyewitness told Reuters. As night fell after the hiatus expired, residents reported shelling in the Kafuri neighborhood of Bahri town, where the RSF base is located.
The United States, China, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UN Security Council, the EU and the African Union have called for a speedy end to hostilities that threaten to exacerbate instability in a region already known for its instability.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday he held consultations on April 15 with Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Foreign Minister, and Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, on a situation that threatens the security of the Sudanese. citizens and undermines efforts to restore democratic change in that country.
“We have agreed that the parties must immediately cease hostilities without preconditions,” Blinkena said in a statement, urging the parties to take active steps to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians.
“The only way forward is to return to negotiations that support the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people,” the secretary of state said.
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