At least 56 civilians diedincluding three UN workers, in the past 24 hours in Sudan, where the army and a powerful group of paramilitaries are clashing for the second consecutive Sunday this Sunday.
Violence erupted on Saturday in the middle of a power struggle between the two generals who orchestrated the 2021 coup.
On Sunday, the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (FAR) paramilitaries They faced each other with heavy weapons According to witnesses, in the northern suburbs of the capital Khartoum and in the south of the city.
Both sides announced the opening of humanitarian corridors for three hours to evacuate the wounded.
Sudanese greet army soldiers loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, photo AFP
fears
Residents of Khartoum without water and electricity They’ve been holed up in their homes for 24 hours while street fights with heavy weapons take place on the streets.
“The shooting and explosions don’t stop,” said Ahmed Hamid, a 34-year-old resident of a northern Khartoum suburb.
The fighting is concentrated in the capital and Darfur in the west of the country.
A network of pro-democracy doctors gave a record of 56 civilians and “Dozens” of combatants killed and more than 600 wounded.
The World Food Program announced the cessation of its activities in the country after three employees of this specialized United Nations body died on Saturday.
Smoke billows over residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16, 2023 as fighting intensifies in Sudan. AFP photo
The conflict has been smoldering for weeks and is preventing a political agreement in one of the poorest countries in the world. Since the popular revolt that overthrew Omar al Bashir in 2019, After 30 years of dictatorship, Sudan is trying to hold its first free elections.
During the coup that ended the democratic transition in October 2021, the head of the army, Abdel Fatah al Burhan, and the head of the FAR, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as “Hemedti”, They banded together to oust civilians from power.
But the rivalry between the two generals turned violent on Saturday.
Fight
Both parties blame each other for the violence and claim to control key locations in the capital.
announced daglo the capture of Khartoum International Airport and the Presidential Palacebut the army assures that it continues to control them.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called on the two generals to make the demand “an immediate end to the violence.”
The African Union (AU) announced that Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat would travel to Sudan “immediately” to urge both parties to a ceasefire.
The Arab League will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation, at the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Countries like China, Great Britain, Russia or members of the African Union and the European Union called for a ceasefire. And Pope Francis urged to resume dialogue in the country.
But for now the two generals don’t seem ready to talk. “Burhan, the criminal, must surrender,” Hemedti said in an interview with Emirati broadcaster Sky News Arabia.
The army, for its part, published a “wanted notice” against Hemedti on Facebook. “This escaped criminal is wanted by the judiciary,” the message said.
The latest episode of violence contributes to this the suppression of demonstrations pro-democracy attacks that have rocked the country over the past 18 months, claiming the lives of more than 120 civilians.
The dispute between the two generals is blocking the democratic transition demanded by the international community to resume aid to Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries.
Burhan, a soldier rising under the now-imprisoned Islamist General Bashir, said the 2021 coup was “necessary” to bring more factions into politics.
Daglo for his part called the coup a “mistake” because it didn’t bring about any change and reactivated some elements of the Bashir regime, which was overthrown by the army in 2019 after massive protests.
Source: AFP
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