In response to explosions and gunfire in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, as paramilitaries and the regular army waged attacks on each other’s bases, India’s embassy in Sudan has asked Indians in the country to seek refuge.
NOTICE TO ALL INDIANS
— India in Sudan (@EoI_Khartoum) April 15, 2023
IN VIEW OF REPORTED FIRINGS AND CLASHES, ALL INDIANS ARE ADVISED TO TAKE UTMOST PRECAUTIONS, STAY INDOORS AND STOP VENTURING OUTSIDE WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT. PLEASE ALSO STAY CALM AND WAIT FOR UPDATES.
After weeks of escalating tensions between military head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo over the intended integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army, violence broke out in the country, on Saturday. Witnesses reported hearing loud explosions, gunfire, and confrontations close to an RSF base in south Khartoum.
#Sudan 🇸🇩: residents of #Khartoum woke up this morning to the sound of gunfire and plumes of smoke rising into the air as clashes appear to have erupted in the capital city.
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) April 15, 2023
These armed confrontations follow weeks of rising tensions between the SAF and RSF military factions. pic.twitter.com/QXQXRsGnzi
Following reports of fighters entering the airport compound in truckloads, the RSF claimed that its forces had taken control of Khartoum Airport. There were accounts of gunfire near the airport, close to Burhan’s home, and also in Khartoum North. As artillery engagements shook the streets, civilians were allegedly spotted scurrying for cover. Both sides traded accusations of instigating the conflict.
RSF declared to have ‘complete control’ of the presidential palace and two other airports, one in the southern city of El-Obeid and one in the northern city of Merowe.
“We are hearing gunfire in the capital near the vicinity of the presidential palace in the northern part of the capital. Lots of confusion here with regard to what is happening at the moment. People are terrified,” confirmed an Al Jazeera journalist.
“The Rapid Support Forces were surprised Saturday with a large force from the army entering camps in Soba in Khartoum and laying siege to paramilitaries there,” the RSF said in a statement. It claimed, a ‘sweeping attack with all kinds of heavy and light weapons’ was underway.
Brigadier-General Nabil Abdallah, a Sudanese army spokesman, however, asserted that paramilitary forces targeted military installations. “Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces attacked several army camps in Khartoum and elsewhere around Sudan. Clashes are ongoing and the army is carrying out its duty to safeguard the country,” he noted.
After a coup in October 2021, generals have been ruling the nation through the Sovereign Council. The vice-president of the council, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, is in charge of the RSF. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sovereign Council, is in charge of the army.
A plan to transition to a civilian-led government has failed due to delays in RSF integration into the national army. The army claimed it should happen in two years while the RSF wanted to put it off for ten.
As tensions intensified this week, the RSF moved troops close to the Merowe military base on Thursday. In order to settle the disagreement over who would be in charge of a unified army under a planned civilian administration, Gen. Burhan stated that he was ready to speak with his second in command.
The two sides have been urged to de-escalate hostilities and return to negotiations aimed at restoring civilian authority by both Western powers and regional leaders.
