Sudan's warring sides trade blame for civilian deaths as fighting rages on

Army says Rapid Support Forces attacked diplomats and civilians, while paramilitary group calls for Gen Al Burhan's arrest

People flee their neighbourhoods amid fighting between the army and paramilitaries in Khartoum on April 19, 2023, following the collapse of a 24-hour truce. (Photo by AFP)

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The heads of Sudan's warring army and Rapid Support Forces traded blame for civilian casualties and chaos, vowing to fight to the end as clashes entered their sixth day.

About 300 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded as clashes rocked Khartoum and other parts of the country, overwhelming most hospitals and trapping children in schools.

“I pray hard for God to spare us,” said Mohammed Al Zaki, a father of five who lives in Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city across the Nile.

Smoke billows above Khartoum's international airport amid fighting between the forces of two rival generals in Sudan. AFP

People carry Othman Mohamed, a senior military officer loyal to army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. AFP

Residential buildings damaged in the fighting in Khartoum, Sudan. AP Photo

People cheer with Sudanese army soldiers manning a position in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. AFP

People queue for water in Khartoum. The fighting has resulted in food and water shortages. Reuters

Black smoke covering the sky above the capital, Khartoum. AFP

Vehicles destroyed during fighting in southern Khartoum. AFP

People head for the station to flee Khartoum during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army. Reuters

Smoke and fire rise from an apartment building, after a shell hit the complex in Khartoum. Reuters

Heavy fighting has broken out across the country. AFP

A building damaged by the fighting. EPA

A destroyed vehicle of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in southern Khartoum. AFP

A building damaged by the fighting. EPA

People gather at a bus station to escape Khartoum. Reuters

People leave their homes amid the fighting. AFP

People look for drinking water in Khartoum, Sudan. Faiz Abubakr for The National

A building burns at Merowe Airport in Sudan. AFP

A man holds two bullets that hit his home. Faiz Abubakr for The National

People gather for a meal to break their fast during Ramadan in Port Sudan. AFP

Satellite image shows a close-up view of destroyed helicopters in South Khartoum. Reuters

The Port Sudan branch of the Central Bank of Sudan. AFP

A hole from an explosion on the side of a building in Khartoum, after fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals. AFP

People queue for bread outside a bakery amid a food crisis in Khartoum. AFP

Smoke rises above Khartoum. Faiz Abubakr / The National

Fearful families try to shelter from the fighting in houses in Khartoum. Faiz Abubakr / The National

A deserted avenue in Khartoum as residents fear to go out due to intense fighting. AP

A Sudanese army tank in a street in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. AFP

Houses have been severely damanged during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army. Reuters

Satellite images show a destroyed Ukrainian plane at Khartoum International Airport. Reuters

Market stalls abandoned in south Khartoum as fighting in the Sudanese capital rages for a third day. AFP

Smoke rises over buildings during clashes. Reuters

Damage at the Communications Authority Building. Reuters

People queue for bread outside a bakery amid a food crisis. AFP

Destroyed fuel trucks at a depot in Khartoum. Reuters

Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, at the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) base in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. AFP

Smoke rises from a fire on the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport in Sudan as fighting between the government and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues. Reuters

Abdalla Hamdok, former prime minister of Sudan, addresses the current crisis and violence on the streets of his homeland at a news conference in Abu Dhabi. Reuters

Burning planes at Khartoum International Airport. EPA

Damage and a fire on the Kobar Bridge in Khartoum. AFP

Heavy smoke billows above Khartoum International Airport. AFP

Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum, as fighting in Sudan raged for a second day. AFP

A military vehicle patrols the streets as the fighting continues. AFP

Smoke rises over the city. Reuters

Thick smoke rises above buildings near the airport amid clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AFP

Explosions rock the Sudanese capital as paramilitary fighters and the regular army attack each other's bases. AFP

The fighting has raised fears of a wider conflict in the country. AP

Government soldiers stationed on a key road in Khartoum. AFP

The fighting comes days after the army warned the country was at a 'dangerous' turning point. AP

People walk past a military vehicle in Khartoum. AFP

“We had never seen anything like this and we are unable to cope. People are shedding tears of blood.”

Others called on the global community to end the fighting.

“Where is the international community? Why are they not working to end this?” asked Mohammed Mostafa, a 38-year-old bank employee, also from Omdurman.

“Everyone is suffering. We have had no water or power.”

Army chief and military ruler Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan told The Financial Times that the RSF has engaged in “indiscriminate violence” and claimed that a large part of the paramilitary force was “out of control”.

Gen Al Burhan also blamed the RSF for the death of three World Food Programme workers.

Other NGO workers as well as diplomats have not been spared the violence.

On Monday, the EU ambassador to Sudan was assaulted at his home, after an attack on a diplomatic US convoy was condemned as “reckless and irresponsible” by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

RSF leader Gen Mohamed Dagalo, meanwhile, said Gen Al Burhan was leading a “radical gang” attacking non-combatants. He has called the army chief a “liar” and a “war criminal”.

“We’re ready for him to hit us, but not the civilians. We ask God that we gain control and arrest him and bring him to justice,” said Gen Dagalo, more commonly known by the nickname Hemedti.

In an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera network, he said the only solution to the country's problems was to bring Gen Al Burhan to justice.

“No negotiations with Al Burhan because he started this fight and is to blame for killing the Sudanese people,” he said.

He said the RSF's priority was to hang on to Khartoum airport.

Sudan’s military has also ruled out negotiations with the RSF and says it will accept only its surrender.

“There would be no armed forces outside the military system,” it said in a statement.

In a move that's symbolically significant, Gen Al Burhan on Thursday issued a decree that ended the merger of the border guards with the RSF under a 2017 law. Under the new decree, the border guard will return to being part of the armed forces. Gen Al Burhan has already issued a decree dissolving the RSF.

Earlier, Gen Dagalo said his paramilitary force had “no objection” to stopping the fighting.

Two 24-hour ceasefires have been declared this week, but neither one has been heeded, with the army and RSF continuing to fight in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the UN, African Union and regional International Fund for Agricultural Development asked the two warring sides again to observe a 24-hour cessation of hostilities beginning at 6pm.

Fighting was reported near Khartoum's international airport throughout Thursday morning and was also hit by artillery on Wednesday. The airport is controlled by the RSF.

RSF forces have increased deployments around the Nile-side presidential palace, Sudan's seat of power, according to journalists in Khartoum, while large plumes of smoke could be seen near the army's general command, which has been the scene of fierce clashes and remains contested.

The palace was captured by the RSF last Saturday, the day the fighting began.

The army said it has destroyed RSF reinforcements making their way to the capital.

Three people were killed by stray bullets during violent clashes at a market in northern Sudan, local journalists reported, while three civilians were killed west of Omdurman.

Civilians across Khartoum sheltered indoors, terrified stray bullets would hit them even in their own homes. Thousands have fled the city in recent days, seeking safety in their hometowns and villages.

Residents in the south of Khartoum were awoken early on Thursday by fighter jets and shelling.

“We wish the fighting would stop during Eid festivities,” a local resident told AFP, referring to the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

“We know it will not happen, though.”

Around the capital and elsewhere, RSF fighters on top of armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons have taken over the streets, the agency reported.

Many have put up checkpoints to search cars carrying civilians trying to escape Khartoum's worst battle zones to safer areas in the capital and beyond.

Khartoum, a city of nearly seven million people on the White and Blue Niles, has seen violence in the years since independence in 1956, mostly due to the nation's track record of military coups, but it has never experienced violence on the scale of the past six days.

With both sides appearing determined to fight until the end, the conflict could turn into a proxy war between regional and world powers, since both Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo have foreign backers.