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Watch flames and dark smoke rise from Khartoum’s famous skyscraper
Buildings have caught fire in the Sudanese capital following fierce fighting between the army and rival forces.
Videos posted online Sunday showed the iconic tower of the Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company engulfed in flames.
“This is really painful,” Tagreed Abdin, an architect of the building, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Airstrikes and ground fighting have continued in Khartoum and other cities since fighting broke out in April.
According to the United Nations, over a million people were forced to leave the country.
The 18-story oil company skyscraper sits near the Nile and is one of Khartoum’s most recognizable landmarks.
Ms Abdin said it had left its mark on the city’s skyline and deplored “such senseless destruction”.
It is still unclear why the cone-shaped structure of the building with a glass facade caught fire. There are no reports of injuries or deaths.
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The RSF is fighting to take control of the Sudanese capital
Violence in Sudan began on April 15, sparked by a power struggle between leaders of the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Days of tension followed as members of the RSF were dispersed across the country, seen by the army as a threat.
The Sudan War Monitor, which analyzes the conflict, said the RSF attacked army-controlled areas on Saturday, including a Justice Ministry office building. Several government buildings reportedly caught fire as a result of the attack.
Witnesses told the AFP news agency that the attacks on army areas continued into Sunday.
Residents of a southern district of the city – where the army had attacked RSF bases – told AFP they woke up hearing “huge banging noises”.
Others reported fighting in the town of El-Obeid, about 400 km (250 miles) south of the capital.
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The offices of the Sudanese Organization for Standardization and Metrology also caught fire
The RSF fought to take control of the capital, and the military’s airstrikes were aimed at weakening the RSF’s positions.
The conflict has killed around 7,500 people and displaced more than five million.