Clashes escalate between Sudanese army, RSF before expected 3-day ceasefire

Sami Hegazi
3 Min Read

The southern area of Sudanese capital Khartoum witnessed on Saturday heavy shelling that targeted the Sports City and the “land of the camps”.

Omdurman was also subjected to aerial bombardment by the army, while ground anti-aircraft of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) countered it.

Reuters, citing Sudanese health authorities, reported that 17 people were killed in an air strike south of Khartoum.The RSF accused the army of bombing densely populated neighborhoods, which killed more than 20 civilians on Friday.

The RSF also said that Sudanese army planes bombed one of its headquarters, killing and wounding 26 captives.

Earlier on Friday, eyewitnesses in Khartoum said that the Sudanese army warplanes launched air raids targeting the positions of the RSF in southern Khartoum and various parts of the city of Omdurman, and that the support forces responded with anti-aircraft fire.

“Near El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, clashes erupted with various kinds of weapons, with witnesses reporting an attack by the RSF on a police station in South Kordofan State, accompanied by artillery shelling.

“Conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan has displaced more than a million children in two months, with nearly a quarter of them in the Darfur region, where there are growing concerns of serious humanitarian violations and communication disruptions.

The RSF announced on Saturday that it had shot down a Sudanese army MiG warplane.

The statement added that the army’s air force attacked a number of residential neighborhoods in southern Khartoum (May, Yarmouk, and Mandela) on Saturday morning, causing the death and injury of dozens of civilians.

“The RSF repelled attacks on innocent people by shooting down a MiG that was bombing innocent citizens,”the statement said.

The Assistant Commander of the Sudanese Army, Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, issued a warning to citizens to evacuate their houses adjacent to those where the RSF are present, in a sign of escalation in the coming hours.

Sudanese sources told on Saturday that a truce between the army and the RSF is likely to be declared for three days.

“The Sudanese army and the RSF are expected to give final approval to the truce declaration”, the sources said.

The sources indicated that “the expected truce in Sudan will be followed by a five-day truce during Eid Al-Adha,

Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF suddenly broke out in mid-April, as military and civilian actors were finalizing an internationally backed political process.

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