Air strikes, artillery fire escalate as factions battle in Sudan capital
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[May 17, 2023]
By Khalid Abdelaziz
DUBAI (Reuters) - Air strikes and artillery fire intensified sharply
across Sudan's capital on Tuesday, residents said, as the army sought to
defend its bases from paramilitary rivals it has been fighting for more
than a month.
The air strikes, explosions and clashes could be heard in the south of
Khartoum, and there was heavy shelling across the River Nile in parts of
the adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman, witnesses said.
The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
(RSF) has triggered unrest elsewhere in Sudan, especially in the western
region of Darfur, but is concentrated in Khartoum.
It has caused a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilise the
region, displacing more than 700,000 people inside Sudan and forcing
about 200,000 to flee into neighbouring countries.
Those who have remained in the capital are struggling to survive as food
supplies dwindle, health services collapse and lawlessness spreads.
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The IFRC humanitarian network said 9 million people were living in close
proximity to battles and under severe hardship, and cited reports of
increased sexual violence against people on the move as it launched a
$33 million fundraising appeal.
Officials have recorded 676 deaths and more than 5,500 injuries, but the
real toll is expected to be far higher with many reports of bodies left
in the streets and people struggling to bury the dead.
"The situation is unbearable. We left our house to go to a neighbour's
house in Khartoum, escaping from the war, but the bombardment follows us
wherever we go," said Ayman Hassan, a 32-year-old Khartoum resident.
"We don't know what the citizens did to deserve a war in the middle of
the houses."
JEDDAH TALKS
Fighting has surged both in Khartoum and in Geneina, capital of West
Darfur, since the two warring parties began talks in Jeddah brokered by
Saudi Arabia and the United States more than a week ago.
The talks have produced a statement of principles on protecting
civilians and allowing aid supplies, but mechanisms for humanitarian
corridors and agreeing a ceasefire are still being discussed.
Both sides had previously announced several ceasefires, none of which
stopped the fighting.
The army has mainly used air strikes and shelling as it seeks to push
back RSF forces from positions across Khartoum.
It has accused the RSF of using captured army officers and their
families as human shields, something the RSF has denied.
The RSF attacked major military bases in northern Omdurman and southern
Khartoum on Tuesday in an apparent attempt to prevent the army from
deploying heavy weaponry and fighter jets, residents and witnesses said.
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![](../images/051723PIX/news_a48.jpg)
A screen grab shows black smoke and fire
at Omdurman market in Omdurman, Sudan, May 15, 2023. VIDEO OBTAINED
BY REUTERS/Handout via REUTERS
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The RSF said it had captured hundreds of army troops in Bahri,
releasing footage of rows of seated men in uniform with RSF fighters
celebrating around them. Reuters could not immediately verify the
claim, which the army denied.
The army has been trying to cut off RSF supply lines and to secure
strategic sites including the airport in central Khartoum and the
major Al-Jaili oil refinery in Bahri, where fighting flared again on
Tuesday.
RSF forces also detained Anas Omer, an outspoken senior member of
the ruling party under deposed former leader Omar al-Bashir, from
his home in Khartoum, Omer's son told Reuters.
The RSF has accused the army of working with loyalists of the former
regime, a charge the army has denied.
HOMES DESTROYED
The war began after disputes over plans for the RSF to join the army
and the future chain of command under an internationally backed deal
for a political transition towards civilian rule and elections.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed
Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, took the top positions on Sudan's
ruling council following the 2019 overthrow of Bashir during a
popular uprising.
They staged a coup two years later as a deadline to hand power to
civilians approached, began to mobilise their respective forces as
mediators tried to finalise the transition plan.
Both sides courted foreign backing from regional states attracted by
Sudan's mineral and agricultural wealth, and its strategic location
between the Sahel and the Gulf.
Most of those fleeing Sudan have headed north to Egypt or west to
Chad, which borders Darfur. Others have headed to Port Sudan on the
Red Sea, hoping to catch boats to Saudi Arabia.
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"We came from war, we lost our husbands, our homes were destroyed,"
said Reem, a student camped out in scorching heat in Port Sudan with
hundreds of others. "Even if there were peace, where are we going to
live if we go back?"
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Additional reporting by Gabrielle
Tetrault-Farber in Geneva and Adam Makary in Cairo; Writing by Aidan
Lewis; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Nick Macfie, William Maclean)
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