61 civilians killed as clashes between Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces enter 2nd day

Clashes continued in Khartoum, its surroundings and at other sites across Sudan for a second day on Sunday between the Rapid Support Forces militia and the Sudanese Armed Forces, with 61 civilians reported killed and over 600 people injured over both days.

Exchanges of fire were concentrated in the surroundings of vital state facilities such as the General Command of the Armed Forces, the presidential palace and the national TV and radio broadcast headquarters.

Caught in the crossfire, both military and civilians alike have suffered dozens of casualties, according to the Central Committee for Sudan Doctors and the country's provisional doctors syndicate, which reported that at least 61 civilians died on Saturday and Sunday alongside dozens of military personnel, while over 600 were wounded in total, including dozens in critical condition.

Among those killed in the fighting were three South Sudanese employees of the UN World Food Programme, which issued a statement Sunday announcing a temporary halt to all of its operations in the country. 

The clashes erupting in the Sudanese capital are the outcome of escalating tensions, which have brewed as the military has tussled with the paramilitary group over particulars of the country’s governance after the two sides acted together to overthrow the transitional government in a 2021 coup.

Since Saturday, both sides have traded accusations regarding who initiated the fighting, which remained unclear as of the time of writing.

The clashes intensified over the course of Saturday night and until Sunday morning at key military sites, which both parties are fighting to control. The armed forces and the RSF issued contradictory statements, both claiming to have made strategic gains to control contested areas.

The RSF moved its activity to the vicinity of the armored corps headquarters, where heavy artillery clashes are taking place. Residents of areas near the headquarters — where the fighting has caused hours-long power and water outages — could clearly hear the sound of explosions.

Meanwhile, violent clashes have also taken place since Saturday as the army seeks to take the RSF-affiliated Karari camp in the city of Omdurman (part of the Khartoum metropolitan area).

The confrontations also erupted in the cities of Fasher, Nyala and Zalingei in the Darfur region. Nyala in particular saw the military ask the residents of neighborhoods surrounding the RSF headquarters in the city to evacuate their homes in preparation for a more intense attack.

Civilian forces in the country, represented by the Freedom and Change Coalition, denounced the clashes as “dragging the country into a war that will destroy everything, with the aim of blocking the path to restoring the civil and democratic transition route,” while calling on the two sides to stop fighting immediately and return to the negotiating table.

In response to the ongoing violence, Egypt and Saudi Arabia called for an emergency meeting at the level of permanent representatives of the Arab League to discuss the situation, with Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid saying the developments necessitate coordination to defuse the situation.

In an emergency convention held Sunday, the Sudanese delegate accused the RSF of instigating the clashes and of inflicting heavy losses on the army. The delegate called on the Arab League to recommend “leaving the matter to the Sudanese” without international intervention, but added Arab efforts are required to help calm the situation.

Egypt's delegate to the league likewise warned against foreign interference in Sudan’s internal affairs, a sentiment reiterated later in another Foreign Ministry statement stressing Cairo's support for a system based on a partnership between civilians and the military in Sudan.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke on the phone Saturday night with United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres, expressing Egypt's concern and stressing that it could have serious negative consequences for stability in the neighboring country.

Observers have also followed news of a cohort of Egyptian soldiers claimed to have been stationed in the city of Merwoe, a focal point of fighting since Saturday, who were reportedly detained amid the clashes by the RSF.

Asharq TV aired an RSF video clip released Saturday purporting to show Egyptian soldiers along with members of the Sudanese Armed Forces who the paramilitary said had “surrendered” in Merowe. The clip showed a number of men in military uniform, sitting on the ground, and talking to members of the RSF in the Egyptian dialect.

The force was in Sudan as part of a joint exercise with the Sudanese Armed Forces, according to the Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson, who added in a Saturday evening statement that “coordination is ongoing with the relevant authorities in Sudan” to ensure that the soldiers are safe.

Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan said last night that the Egyptian soldiers are currently safe, adding in comments to the Saudi Arabian outlet, Al Arabiya TV, that his forces are ensuring they are treated well until their imminent release. 

Violence has flared once again in Sudan, just days after a civilian government was due to take the country’s lead once again on April 11 following months of coordination to end military rule. 

Earlier this month the Sudanese Armed Forces reiterated once again its demand for the RSF to be integrated into its ranks as stipulated by a framework agreement signed in December between civilian political forces and the military.

However, the demand for a unified military force was stymied by longstanding disagreements between the two commanders as to how the force would be organized and who would lead it.

Before coming head to head, Burhan and Hemedti had been ruling Sudan together since October 2021, when they co-led a violent coup that saw the military and the Rapid Support Forces overthrow the civilian parties with which they had shared power since the 2019 revolution and brutally repress protesters who rose up to challenge them.

*Writing by Ahmed Bakr