HEAVY fighting has been reported in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.
The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it has taken control of the presidential palace as well as several airports.
Cannon and armored vehicles deployed in streets of Khartoum, and the sound of heavy weapons fire were heard near the headquarters of both the army and RSF.
Sudan’s Armed Forces Command said in a statement that it was fighting the RSF in Khartoum, accusing the group of “traitorous plotting” against the country. It said that the paramilitary forces infiltrated Khartoum airport and burned civilian aircraft.
The Rapid Support Forces said a large force from Sudan’s army entered a base where its fighters were stationed in the capital of Khartoum on Saturday and launched a “brutal offensive.”
The military has been in charge of Sudan since a coup in 2021, which ended a power sharing arrangement formed following the ouster of long-term former President Omar al-Bashir. Talks have been under way on integrating the RSF into the army as part of the move towards the return of civilian rule.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a news conference Saturday that the situation in Khartoum is “fragile.” The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on forces fighting in Sudan to “stop the violence immediately,” saying news of the fighting was “alarming.”
