– U.S., UK Ambassadors, Embassy staff in Sudan, Other diplomats take shelter, remain indoors
The US ambassador and embassy staff in Sudan have been forced to take shelter as the country’s army and a powerful paramilitary group exchange gunfire in the capital Khartoum.
The British embassy has also advised all British nationals there to stay indoors, after sustained fighting broke out on Saturday between the military and Rapid Support Forces militia.
The RSF said it has taken control of the Presidential Palace, the residence of army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Khartoum’s international airport, where there is continuous fighting leaving the country cut off.
There have also been reports of clashes in other cities in what is an apparent coup attempt by the militia, which claims that the army attacked it first.
Reports have emerged that Sudan’s air force is conducting strikes on paramilitary bases in Khartoum as the army aims to crack down on the RSF who it has labelled ‘rebels’.
Smoke rises above Khartoum on Saturday amid clashes between the military and Rapid Support Forces militia
John Godfrey, US ambassador to Sudan, tweeted: ‘I just arrived late last night in Khartoum and woke up to the deeply disturbing sounds of gunfire and fighting.
‘I am currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing.’
The British embassy in Sudan said ‘we advise all British nationals in Sudan to remain indoors’.
‘We are closely monitoring the situation in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan where there are ongoing military clashes.’
Russia’s embassy in the country also expressed concerned at the ‘escalation of violence’ and has urged a ceasefire.
The sounds of heavy firing could be heard in a number of areas in the capital, including central Khartoum and the neighborhood of Bahri.
Elsewhere, eyewitnesses reported clashes erupting between military and paramilitary forces in the capital of North Darfur state, El Fasher.
The RSF also claimed it had seized an airport and airbase in the northern city of Marawi, some 215 miles north-west of Khartoum.
In a statement, the RSF militia accused the army of attacking its forces at one of its bases in south Khartoum.
In a separate statement on Saturday, the Sudanese Army said the fighting broke out after RSF troops tired to attack its forces in the southern part of the capital.
In a later statement, the military declared the RSF a ‘rebel force,’ describing the paramilitary’s statements as ‘lies.’
In their statement, the RSF said it was contacted by three former rebel leaders who hold government positions in an apparent bid to de-escalate the conflict.
TV footage emerging from the country shows smoke rising from buildings across the capital and elsewhere, including at a military camp in Merowe, 200 miles north of Khartoum.
The clashes come as hostility between the military and the RSF has escalated in recent months, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally backed deal with political parties to revive the country’s democratic transition.
The tensions stem from a disagreement over how the RSF should be integrated into the military and which authority should oversee the process.
The merger is a key condition of Sudan’s unsigned transition agreement.
However, the army-RSF rivalry dates back to the rule of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019.
Under the former President, the RSF paramilitary force, led by powerful General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (pictured), grew out of former militias
Speaking on state news earlier this week, army spokesman Brig. Nabil Abdullah read a statement warning of conflict after the deployment of paramilitary forces in the capital and other cities
Under the former president, the paramilitary force, led by powerful General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, grew out of former militias, known as the Janjaweed, which carried out a brutal crackdown in Sudan’s Darfur region during the decades of conflict there.
In a rare televised speech on Thursday, a top army general warned of potential clashes with the RSF, accusing it of deploying forces in Khartoum and other areas of Sudan without the army’s consent.
Sudan civilian parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the two groups have now called on them to cease hostilities.
The civilian parties also urged international and regional players to urgently help stop the bloodshed.
Commercial aircraft trying to land at Khartoum International Airport began turning around to head back to their originating airport.
Flights from Saudi Arabia turned back after nearly landing at Khartoum International Airport, flight tracking data showed on Saturday.
Originally published in Daily Mail (UK)