Sudan's army appears to have gained the upper hand in a bloody power struggle with rival paramilitary forces, pounding their bases with air strikes, according to witnesses, with the violence leaving at least 59 civilians including three UN workers dead.
The fighting erupted on Saturday local time between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of Sudan's transitional governing Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is the deputy head of the council.
It was the first such outbreak since they joined forces to oust veteran Islamist autocrat Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019 and was sparked by a disagreement over the integration of the RSF into the military as part of a transition towards civilian rule.
General Burhan and Hemedti agreed a three-hour pause in fighting from 4pm to allow humanitarian evacuations proposed by the United Nations, the UN mission in Sudan said, but the deal was widely ignored after a brief period of relative calm.
As night fell, residents reported the boom of artillery and roar of warplanes in the Kafouri district of Bahri, which has an RSF base, across the Nile River from the capital Khartoum.
A statement from the army said there were ongoing clashes in the vicinity of the military headquarters in central Khartoum, and that the RSF was stationing snipers on buildings but they were "monitored and being dealt with".
Eyewitnesses told Reuters the army was renewing air strikes on RSF bases in Omdurman, Khartoum's sister city across the Nile, and the Kafouri and Sharg El-Nil districts of adjacent Bahri, putting RSF fighters to flight.
On Sunday, Sudan's military launched air strikes on a base belonging to the RSF in the city of Omdurman, which adjoins the capital Khartoum in a bid to reassert control over the country.
A statement by the army said there were ongoing clashes in the vicinity of military headquarters in central Khartoum, and said that RSF soldiers were stationing snipers on buildings, but that they were "monitored and being dealt with."
The military and RSF — which, analysts say, is 100,000 strong — have been competing for power as political factions negotiate forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup.
The RSF claimed to have seized the presidential palace, the army chief's residence, state television station and airports in Khartoum, the northern city of Merowe, El Fasher and West Darfur state. The army rejected those assertions.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese air force told people to stay indoors while it conducted what it called an aerial survey of RSF activity, and a holiday was declared in Khartoum state for Sunday, closing schools, banks and government offices.
Gunfire and explosions could be heard across the capital, where TV footage showed smoke rising from several districts and social media videos captured military jets flying low over the city, at least one appearing to fire a missile.
A Reuters journalist saw cannon and armoured vehicles on the streets and heard heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of both the army and RSF.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan told Al Jazeera TV the RSF should back down.
"We think, if they are wise, they will turn back their troops that came into Khartoum," he said.
"But, if it continues, we will have to deploy troops into Khartoum from other areas."
The armed forces said it would not negotiate with the RSF unless the force dissolved. The army told soldiers seconded to the RSF to report to nearby army units, which could deplete RSF ranks if they obey.
Meanwhile, RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — better known as Hemedti — called General Burhan a "criminal" and a "liar".
"We know where you are hiding and we will get to you and hand you over to justice, or you die just like any other dog," General Hemedti said.
A prolonged confrontation could plunge Sudan into widespread conflict as it struggles with economic breakdown and tribal violence, derailing efforts to move towards elections.
US calls for immediate end to hostilities
International powers — the United States, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, European Union and African Union — all appealed for an immediate end to the hostilities.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had consulted with the "foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates" regarding the clashes in Sudan.
They agreed it was essential for the involved parties to immediately end hostilities without any preconditions, Mr Blinken said in a statement.
On Sunday, a State Department official said that the US was deeply concerned about the high levels of violence in Sudan.
"It does appear that there had been significant weaponry involved in some of these attacks," the official said en route to Tokyo, where Mr Blinken will attend a meeting of the Group of Seven foreign ministers from Sunday.
"Our primary concern is the safety of our personnel as well as American citizens there."
After a phone call, the Saudi, US and UAE foreign ministers called for a return to the framework agreement on the transition to democracy, the Saudi state news agency reported.
He spoke with the leaders of both sides and with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Mr Guterres's spokesperson said.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it had temporarily halted all operations in hunger-stricken areas of Sudan after three Sudanese employees were killed during fighting in North Darfur and a WFP plane was hit during a gun battle at Khartoum airport.
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres condemned the killings and called for accountability.
"Those responsible should be brought to justice without delay," Mr Guterres said on Twitter.
"Humanitarian workers are #NotATarget."
Volker Perthes, UN special envoy for Sudan and head of its country mission, said in a statement he was appalled by reports of shelling and looting impacting UN and other humanitarian facilities.
Political agreement at risk
The clashes follow rising tensions over the RSF's integration into the military.
That disagreement has delayed the signing of an internationally backed agreement with political parties on a transition to democracy.
On Saturday, local time, a coalition of civilian groups that signed a draft of that agreement in December called for an immediate halt to hostilities, to stop Sudan sliding towards "the precipice of total collapse".
"This is a pivotal moment in the history of our country," they said in a statement.
"This is a war that no one will win, and that will destroy our country forever."
The RSF accused the army of carrying out a plot by loyalists of former strongman president Omar Hassan al-Bashir — who was ousted in a coup in 2019 — and attempting a coup itself. That 2021 coup ousted the country's civilian prime minister.
Eyewitnesses reported fighting in many areas outside the capital.
The RSF shared a video that it said showed Egyptian troops who "surrendered" to them in Merowe.
Egypt said the troops were in Sudan for exercises with their Sudanese counterparts.
General Hemedti told Sky News Arabia that the Egyptians were safe and the RSF would cooperate with Cairo on their return.
The video showed men dressed in army fatigues crouched on the ground and speaking in an Egyptian Arabic dialect.
Unconfirmed reports by open-source intelligence analysts said several Egyptian Air Force fighter planes and their pilots have been captured by the RSF, along with Sudanese weapons and military vehicles.
Clashes also erupted between the RSF and the army in the Darfur cities of El Fasher and Nyala, eyewitnesses said.
ABC/wires
