Al Jazeera correspondent reported renewed clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum on Friday morning.
The correspondent quoted military sources that the army attacked from its positions in the Muqrin area the Rapid Support Forces deployed in central Khartoum and the vicinity of the Arab market.
The sources spoke about the use of heavy and light weapons in the confrontations between the two sides, as well as the Sudanese Air Force sorties targeting rapid support sites near the presidential palace.
The correspondent spoke about the Sudanese army’s shelling of the positions of the support forces in the Al-Jeli refinery, north of Khartoum North, and confirmed the interruption of the communications network in the city of Omdurman, west of the capital.
The fighting began at dawn on Thursday in what was described as the army’s biggest operation in the 17-month war.
Sudanese military sources told Al Jazeera that the army launched an attack on the support forces in several areas of Khartoum yesterday, during which it took control of the vicinity of the Arab market in the center of the capital.
The sources pointed out that the army advanced in several axes, after controlling the entrances to the bridges of “White Nile” and “Fatihab” from the Khartoum side, and “Halfaya” from the Khartoum North side.
The bridges connect the three neighbouring cities that make up the greater capital area – Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri.
For his part, Rapid Support Forces commander Ibrahim Baqal denied in a video recording on the X platform that the army forces had taken control of the Arab market.
The army retook some territory in Omdurman earlier this year, but relies mostly on artillery and airstrikes, and has been unable to drive the RSF from other parts of the capital.
The head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said the army’s ongoing operations in Khartoum were aimed at completing state security within the rules of war in international law.
Dead in El Fasher
On the other hand, 18 civilians were killed and 41 others were wounded, on Thursday evening, as a result of heavy artillery shelling launched by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan.
The governor of the Darfur region, Minni Arko Minawi, said in a Facebook post that artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Militia on the livestock market resulted in “the death of 18 innocent citizens and the wounding of 41 others.”
Minawi described the incident as a “heinous crime” added to a series of violations that cannot be ignored. He also stressed the need for the international community to intervene to hold the perpetrators of these “crimes against humanity” accountable.
According to eyewitnesses to the correspondent of Al Jazeera Net in Sudan, Mohamed Zakaria, renewed clashes, on Friday, in the northern eastern neighborhoods of the city of El Fasher, pointing to a heavy exchange of fire and hearing the sound of heavy and light weapons.
There was no information about civilian casualties during these clashes, especially with the complete disruption of the communications network.
For several months, the city of El Fasher has been witnessing heavy artillery shelling by the Rapid Support Forces, resulting in dozens of casualties and the displacement of thousands of citizens to safer areas, with Sudanese army airstrikes targeting the positions of the Rapid Support Forces.
El Fasher is the only capital of the five Darfur states not controlled by the RSF. The city, which hosts refugee populations, has been an important humanitarian hub in the region, whose population is threatened by famine.
Al- Burhan and Lavrov
On the other hand, Burhan met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, and briefed him on the developments in Sudan and the efforts exerted to achieve security, stability and peace in it.
A statement by the Sovereign Council said that Burhan “praised the role played by Russia in helping and supporting Sudan and supporting peace and stability in it, pointing to Russia’s positions in support of Sudan in international and regional forums and its keenness to sustain security and stability.”
According to the statement, the Russian foreign minister affirmed his country’s support for Khartoum “so that it enjoys security and stability and his country’s keenness to continue joint cooperation with Sudan and strengthen bilateral relations.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier announced that the death toll was at least 20,000 since the beginning of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, but some estimates reach 150,000 victims, according to US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello.
More than 10 million people, about 20 percent of the population, have been displaced by the fighting or forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. The conflict has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, according to the United Nations.
