The Sudanese army appears to have gained the upper hand in a bloody power struggle with paramilitary groups by shelling their bases from the air, but the fighting continues, writes Reuters.
Since the outbreak of the unrest in Sudan, 97 civilians have been killed and 365 injured. Many soldiers were also killed, but the Sudan Medical Association does not have accurate information. Fighting between the army groups supporting Sudan’s interim government head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary forces of commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo began on Saturday, the 15th of April. It is the first disagreement since al-Burhan and Dagalo joined forces in 2019 to topple Islamist autocrat Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The clashes were sparked by disagreements over the incorporation of the paramilitary group into the army, which was part of a plan to establish civilian rule in the country.
The UN mission in Sudan reported that Burhan and Dagalo had agreed on a three-hour period of peace to allow the evacuation of civilians, but after a brief moment of conditional peace, the shooting resumed.
Late in the evening of the 16th of April, residents reported artillery fire and the noise of warplanes.
Witnesses told Reuters that the army had resumed strikes on paramilitary bases, forcing the group’s soldiers to leave.
The United States, China, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UN Security Council, the European Union and the African Union have called for an end to hostilities that threaten to increase instability in an already security-fragile region.
After both sides announced that they had taken control of the presidential palace and other important sites in Khartoum, the army said it had succeeded in recapturing most of the palace grounds.
Paramilitary forces remain at Khartoum International Airport,
which is under siege by the Sudanese army. So far, it has avoided directly shelling the airport so as not to cause serious damage.
However, according to residents and witnesses, the biggest problem is the large number of paramilitary fighters stationed around Khartoum and other cities. A young resident of southern Khartoum told Reuters that her greatest concern is about access to food and water, as well as medicine.
Prolonged clashes could plunge Sudan into a wider conflict at a time when it is struggling with economic hardship and tribal strife, and could derail any efforts to move towards elections.
The UN’s World Food Program has announced it has temporarily suspended operations in famine-stricken areas of Sudan after three Sudanese working for the organization were killed. A program plane was also damaged in the shooting at the Khartoum airport. UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote on Twitter that he condemns the killings and said that humanitarian aid workers are not targets.
Appalling.
The ongoing clashes in Sudan have resulted in the deaths & injuries of civilians, including 3 of our @WFP colleagues killed while carrying out their work.
Those responsible should be brought to justice without delay.
Humanitarian workers are #NotATarget.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 16, 2023
On the 16th of April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia contacted Burhan and Daglo, calling for an end to the conflict. Sudan, in turn, has stated that the issue should be resolved internally, without foreign interference. The Sudanese army will not negotiate with the paramilitary forces until they are disbanded. Meanwhile, paramilitary leader Dagalo has called Burhan a criminal and a liar.