Sudan woke up in chaos. The political rivalry between the two generals at the top of the sovereign council which currently leads the country, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan and the pro-Russian Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has exploded into clashes and violence in Khartoum. The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RFS) are trying to seize power and unseat the army in a showdown made up of raids, shootings, air raids, armored personnel carriers and conflicting announcements. In the evening the situation, which is trapping at least 150 Italians, still seemed to hang in the balance. And only provisional would be the toll of at least three civilians killed and nine people injured, including an officer.
The armed forces commanded by General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, head of the Sovereign Council, claimed to have “reconquered all vital areas” and the situation triggered by paramilitary attacks “is about to be resolved”. Admitting that it has partially and momentarily lost control, the army confirmed that it had retaken the airports of Khartoum and Merowe, cities 440 north of the capital, driving out the RFS led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemeti”, with fame closeness to Russia and number two on the Council. In the raid on the airport, the RSF set fire to civilian planes, including one belonging to Saudi Airlines. The first gunshots in Khartoum were heard around seven, reported members of the Italian NGO ‘Music for peace creatives of the night’, while Emergency was forced to close its pediatric center on the outskirts of the capital and evacuate the staff.
The Sudanese air force has announced that it has hit two paramilitary bases in Khartoum and images of moving tanks have been seen on social media. A United Nations official reported clashes “literally everywhere” in the capital, including in the “Khartoum 2” area where the Italian Embassy is located. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, in launching an “appeal for dialogue and an end to the violence”, exhorted the approximately 150 Italians residing in the country (almost half of whom in Khartoum) not to “leave their homes”.
Calls to end the fighting have also come from the UN, the USA, the EU, the African Union, the Arab League and Russia. The friction between the army and the paramilitaries had been worsening for months, blocking the transition based on the framework agreement signed on December 5th. In fact, at the center of the dispute is military reform with the Sudanese army which would like to integrate the RSF into its ranks already within two years while Dagalo would like to place itself at the disposal of a civil authority in a slower process which could last up to ten years. The army, showing images of Burhan busy in an operations room, says it has always had control of its headquarters and has denied an announced capture of the presidential palace. A colonel admitted there were “losses” in the army, but was unable to quantify them.
“The battle will be decided in the coming days,” warned Dagalo. The RSF, which in April 2019 participated in the military coup that ended the era of the autocrat Omar al-Bashir, would have around 100,000 men. They are an evolution of the notorious “janjaweed” militias, the “devils on horseback” who fought for Bashir in order to put down the rebellion in Darfur in the early 2000s, a conflict with at least 2.5 million refugees and around 300,000 dead. Dagalo shares a gold mine with the Wagner militia, went to Russia on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine and has said he is in favor of building a Russian base on the Red Sea in Sudan.