Sudan: All-Out War Erupts In Clash Of Rival Military Forces as Casualties Mount
Smouldering tensions between rival armed forces erupted into all-out warfare in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, leaving at least 50 dead and 600 injured. What began as a peaceful clash over Sudan’s political future is now a war for control of Africa’s third-largest country.
The battles pit the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — who’s also known as Hemedti and has served as Burhan’s deputy head of state.
The two generals united in a 2021 coup to take shared control of the country. However, recent months have seen mounting tensions between the SAF and RSF, as the generals have clashing positions in negotiations for the establishment of civilian government — something the country’s been trying to achieve since a 2019 revolution overthrew the 30-year reign of President Omar al-Bashir.
To say things have soured among the two former allies would be a major understatement. Meanwhile, in a gesture that seems comically empty given the state of affairs, Burhan issued a decree commanding the RSF to disband.
It’s unclear who fired the first shot, but now the two forces are battling for control of key Khartoum locations, including the presidential palace, army headquarters, state television and the airport. Battles have also been reported in various other cities. Videos are circulating on social media that purportedly show various scenes of combat.
SAF jets were seen screeching low over the Khartoum skyline as they conducted airstrikes on RSF positions in and around the city. Some of the earliest fightings took place at Khartoum International Airport. Saudi Arabia’s national airline, Saudia, reported one of its Airbus A330 jets had an “accident.” It was seen engulfed in flame, while other videos showed multiple commercial aircraft ablaze. All flights have been cancelled.
