KHARTOUM. The clash between the regular army and paramilitaries led by a general linked to the Wagner Group, who have been contending for power in Sudan since Saturday also with air raids and artillery, has generated a bloodbath with dozens of dead – including three operators of the UN food program – and hundreds injured. The African Union rushes in an attempt to agree on a ceasefire, but the undertaking is difficult given that shooting continued despite the opening of humanitarian corridors to help the wounded agreed for only three or four hours. A reliable balance of the number of victims is that compiled by the NGO “Central Committee of Sudanese doctors” which counted 56 dead, of which 25 in Khartoum, and 595 injured, half of whom were rescued in the capital. However, the figures date back to the morning and are destined to increase given that clashes were reported throughout the day: gunfire, artillery shelling and loud explosions even during the opening of the humanitarian corridors declared at 4pm. armed commanded by General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, head of the Sovereign Council that governs the country, and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by the number two of the junta, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”.
The friction that degenerated into open confrontation can be traced back to the times and methods of the placement in the forces of the RSF, followers of the notorious “Janjaweed” militia, the “devils on horseback” who sowed death and terror in the civil war in Darfur in the 2000s. In addition to extending Moscow’s shadow over Sudan, where Wagner’s Russian mercenaries with whom “Hemedti” does business in gold mining already operate, the clash further distances the transition to democracy and the first free elections after 30 years of Islamic-military dictatorship of autocrat Omar al-Bashir deposed in April 2019. Fighting was reported around the Army General Command in Khartoum and again at the Merowe base, some 380km north of the capital. In a war of announcements that is almost impossible to verify, Dagalo claimed to control “90% of the military areas in Sudan” also thanks to numerous defections so much so that now, according to him, Al-Burhan “is hiding underground” and “must just surrender.” On the contrary, Sudanese military intelligence said the army controls “all military sites in the capital”. Airspace over Sudan has been closed and in Khartoum, where there is no water and electricity, civilians who venture outside risk being caught in the crossfire.
UN operations in the country suspended
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the world‘s largest humanitarian organization, announced a temporary suspension of its operations in Sudan following the killing of three of its employees and the wounding of two others in North Darfur. The killings and injuries were “strongly” condemned by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. WFP said it had to suspend its operations in the country of 45 million inhabitants, one of the poorest in the world, also because one of its planes was damaged by gunfire at Khartoum airport. In this context it was announced that the head of the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat, will go “immediately” to Sudan to push the army and paramilitaries to agree on a ceasefire. Neighboring Egypt and South Sudan and neighboring Kenya have also offered to mediate. The Italian government has expressed “deep concern about the continuation of the clashes” and their extension “to various areas of Sudan”, said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, in contact with the Italian embassy in Khartoum and other embassies European Union to monitor the safety of the approximately 150 compatriots on the spot and evaluate any “options to protect their safety”.
Sudan, assault on Khartoum: General Dagalo’s red caps are trying to block the democratic process
stable jordan
Al Arabiya headquarters hit
The headquarters of the correspondence office of the pan-Arab TV Al Arabiya and its news-only channel al-Hadath in Khartoum were “affected by new bombings in the Sudanese capital” where clashes between the regular army and paramilitaries have been taking place since Saturday. For the second day, shots and the noise of heavy artillery can be heard in the city, despite international appeals, even after the declarations of the opening of the humanitarian corridors, and therefore of a temporary suspension of the fighting. The president of the African Union Commission will immediately travel to Sudan to reach a ceasefire.
Rapid Support Forces said on Facebook that they were attacked by “foreign aircraft” in Port Sudan. The Sudanese army says it has taken control of the largest RSF base in Karari. While the RFS claim to have shot down a Sukhoi army plane. Meanwhile, the council of the Arab League has called an urgent meeting. “90 percent of the bases and air force are now at our disposal,” Sudanese Rapid Support Forces commander Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo told Sky News Arabia. “The Inspector General of the Sudanese army and some other leaders joined the rapid support forces,” he added, “we took control of El Geneina airport in West Darfur.”