1681682798 What is happening in Sudan between the army and the

What is happening in Sudan between the army and the putschists? The

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Sudanese people greet army soldiers loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Port Sudan on the Red Sea April 16, 2023. - Fighting militants in Sudan said they agreed to an hour-long humanitarian pause, including the evacuation of wounded, on the second day of raging city battles that killed more than 50 civilians, including three UN workers, and sparked international outrage. (Photo by AFP) -/ AFP Sudanese people greet army soldiers loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 16, 2023. – Fighting militants in Sudan said they agreed to an hour-long humanitarian break, including to evacuate wounded, on the second day of raging urban fighting that has killed more than 50 civilians, including three UN workers, and sparked international outrage. (Photo by AFP)

– /AFP

The soldiers agreeing with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan this Sunday April 16 in Sudan.

SUDAN – Second very tense day in the Sudanese capital. The army sent its air force Saturday, April 15, against the paramilitaries who say they have seized control of the airport and presidential palace in Khartoum in the most violent episode of rivalry between the two commanding generals since the coup. At least 56 people died this Sunday, April 16.

According to witnesses, heavy gun battles raged in the northern suburbs of Khartoum and south of the capital between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries, former militiamen of the war in the Darfur region.

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The army and FSR had announced that they would open “humanitarian corridors” at 4 p.m. (Paris time) on Sunday for three hours to evacuate the wounded, with both sides retaining a “right of reaction in case of violation” of the agreement would. Witnesses also reported artillery fire in Kassala in the east of the country.

Three helpers among the 56 victims

A network of pro-democracy doctors has identified 56 civilians, including three UN humanitarian workers, as well as “dozens” of combatants killed and more than 600 injured. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has suspended its aid to Sudan following the death of its three staff members.

In this regard, France expressed on Sunday “its dismay” at these deaths and “reiterates its call to do everything possible to stop the fighting and prevent it from escalating”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also calls for “full respect for the protection of humanitarian personnel”.

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Khartoum International Airport taken by FSRs

General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (FSR), known as “Hemedti,” on Sunday pledged to hold the international airport and the presidential palace, urging the entire population, including soldiers, to stand against the army.

Opposite, the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, de facto ruler of Sudan since his October 25, 2021 coup, announced that its air force was conducting “operations” against the “enemy.”

In Khartoum, AFP journalists heard overflights over RSF bases as the army posted a photo on its Facebook account of a base burning in southern Khartoum. The two camps also clash near the state media headquarters, witnesses told AFP.

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The conflict between soldiers and paramilitaries, which has been latent for weeks, has now taken on a belligerent tone: the army says “face the enemy” and speaks of “militias”, whom it accuses of “lying” and “treason”.

During the coup, Hemedti and Burhane formed a common front to oust civilians from power. But over time, Hemedti – many of whom are former militia officers trained to fight in the Darfur region – has repeatedly denounced the coup. Only recently he sided with the civilians – that is, against the army in the political negotiations – and blocked the talks and thus any solution to end the crisis in Sudan.

Combat operations began on Saturday, then escalation

Rumors of an imminent guerrilla war between the two camps had been buzzing through the streets for days. On Saturday morning, Khartoum woke up to the sound of heavy and light gunfire and almost continuous explosions.

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Within hours, the FSR announced that they had taken Khartoum International Airport in the heart of the capital, then the Presidential Palace where General Burhane normally sits, as well as the palace reserved for state guests, an airport in the north of the country and ” other bases in different provinces”.

The army denies seizing the airport, but asserts that the FSR “entered there and set fire to civilian aircraft, including one belonging to Saudi Airlines”. She also claims to always be in control of her staff’s headquarters.

Residents are confined to their homes. “Like all Sudanese, I remain protected,” tweeted US Ambassador John Godfrey. “The escalation of tensions between soldiers to the point of direct confrontation is extremely dangerous. I urge senior military commanders to cease fighting immediately,” he wrote.

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According to their own statements, law firms and political forces have been working in mediation for several days, so far without success. France, which has so far remained silent, believes that “only the return to an inclusive political process leading to the appointment of a caretaker government and general elections can solve this crisis in the long term”. The Foreign Ministry said in a press release that it “stands ready, along with Sudan’s other partners, to facilitate a way out of the crisis and to promote a political solution.” The embassy in Khartoum and the crisis center in Paris are being mobilized to ensure the safety of French nationals, he adds.

General Daglo claims his place on the staff

The army accuses the FSR of starting hostilities: “The fighting” started when the FSR attacked army bases “in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan,” army spokesman Gen. Nabil Abdallah told AFP. The army, on the other hand, “is fulfilling its duty to protect the fatherland,” he added.

The FSR said they were “surprised in the morning by the arrival of a large contingent of the army, who besieged their camp at Soba” in southern Khartoum and “attacked them with all kinds of heavy and light weapons”.

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The differences between the two strongmen essentially relate to the future of the paramilitaries: the return to the democratic transition depends on their integration into the regular troops. If the army does not reject them, they still want to enforce their conditions of admission and limit their integration in time. General Daglo, he claims broad involvement and, above all, his place on the staff.

A return to transition is being called for by the international community to resume aid to Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world.

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