Sudan Army and RSF forces claim control of strategic installations
3 min read
Sudan Army and RSF forces (Rapid Support Forces) claim control of strategic installations in an apparent coup
Sudan Army and RSF forces (Rapid Support Forces) claim control of strategic installations in an apparent coup.
In an apparent coup attempt on Saturday, Sudan’s largest paramilitary group claimed to have taken control of the presidential palace, the army chief’s apartment, and Khartoum International Airport.
However, the military claimed to be retaliating.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who claimed that the army attacked them first, also claimed that they had seized control of the airports in the western city of El-Obeid and the northern city of Merowe.
Uncertainty surrounded the ground situation. The army claimed to be engaged in combat with the RSF at locations paramilitaries claimed to have seized.
Additionally, the army claimed to have captured some RSF bases while denying that the RSF had seized Merowe Airport.
At least three have died in the capital Khartoum following the clash between the army and a notorious paramilitary force.
The clashes follow rising tensions between the army and the RSF over the integration of the RSF into the military and who should oversee the process.
The disagreement has delayed the signing of an internationally-backed agreement with political parties on a transition to democracy.
On Saturday, the RSF accused the army of carrying out a plot by loyalists of former strongman President Omar Hassan al-Bashir – who was ousted in 2019 – and attempting a coup itself.
The RSF is headed by former militia leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.
He has been deputy leader of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council headed by Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan since 2019.
The army said the Sudanese air force was conducting operations against the RSF.
Reuters reported that cannons and armored vehicles deployed in the streets of the capital and heard heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of both the army and RSF.
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Clashes were also taking place at the headquarters of Sudan’s state TV, said an anchor who appeared on the screen.
The Sudanese armed forces spokesman told the Al Jazeera Mubasher television station that the army would respond to any “irresponsible” actions, as its forces clashed with the RSF in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
International powers – the U.S., Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, and the European Union – all called for an end to the hostilities.
Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF also called on the two sides to end the violence.
The army said the RSF had tried to attack its troops in several positions.
The RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, said its forces were attacked first by the army, saying in a statement earlier on Saturday that the army surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons.
The RSF, which together with the army overthrew Bashir four years ago, began redeploying units in Khartoum and elsewhere amid talks last month on its integration into the military under a transition plan that would lead to new elections.
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