Al-Yurae – Khartoum – Violent clashes broke out early this morning between the Rapid Support Militias led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan
The clashes came two days after the beginning of a declared conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces over the latter’s mobilization of its forces around major cities, army positions and military bases, where it claimed to deploy its forces according to the tasks assigned to it by the army, but the army leadership was quick to deny this and accused the Rapid Support Forces of illegal and constitutional mobilization and without any security coordination with them
Many international and local parties rushed to defuse the crisis between the two army Generals until late yesterday, while the two parties announced in principle their acceptance of mediation and sitting with each other to resolve the outstanding issues, which are the security arrangements reached by an agreement between the civilian political forces which calls for the return of the army to its barracks and exit from political life and the dissolution of the Rapid Support Militias and their integration into one army with the armed forces, but the two parties, despite their acceptance, differed in the method of integration, its duration and leadership
Fierce and sudden battles between the two sides are still raging in the capital Khartoum and several Sudanese cities as of this writing, amid conflicting statements from both sides announcing victories for their forces in some areas where clashes are taking place between them
The leader of the Rapid Support Militias appeared in an interview on the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera condemning the army commander Al-Burhan and vowing to arrest him and bring him to trial, while Al-Burhan issued a statement in which he accused the militia of rebellion, treason and treachery, stressing that the army will confront it
According to eyewitnesses in the capital, Khartoum, a force of rapid support occupied Khartoum International Airport for a long time since early hours of this morning, as the civil aviation authorities announced the suspension of air navigation , and eyewitnesses also mentioned that warplanes reconnaissance, throwing missiles and destroying facilities belonging to the Rapid Support Forces, and several army tanks were seen heading towards the confrontation areas in several separate neighborhoods in the capital Khartoum and thick clouds of smoke to be seen coming from these areas.
Egypt, international powers and regional organizations issued statements calling for calm and urging a ceasefire in Sudan.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying: “Egypt is following with great concern the developments in Sudan following the ongoing clashes there.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on all Sudanese parties to exercise maximum restraint to protect the lives and capabilities of the brotherly Sudanese people, and to uphold the supreme interests of the homeland.
The US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, wrote on his Twitter account: “I arrived in Khartoum late last night and woke up to the worrying sounds of bullets and fighting.”
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