Russia calls for 'urgent steps towards ceasefire' amid military & paramilitary force clashes in Sudan

Moscow: Russia’s foreign ministry on Saturday called for “urgent steps” to end the fierce clashes between Sudan’s military and the country’s powerful paramilitary force that erupted Saturday in the capital and elsewhere in the African nation, leaving at least three civilians dead.

“The dramatic events taking place in Sudan are causing serious concern in Moscow. We call on the parties of the conflict to show political will and restraint and take urgent steps towards a ceasefire,” the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that the violent clashes must end “immediately”.

The top US diplomat said he was “deeply concerned” about the reports of fighting. He said US embassy staff in the capital Khartoum are all “currently accounted for.”

“We urge all actors to stop the violence immediately and avoid further escalations or troop mobilizations and continue talks to resolve outstanding issues,” he tweeted from Hanoi, Vietnam, where he is passing through on his way to a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan.

The Sudanese army said fighting broke out after RSF troops tried to attack its forces in the southern part of the capital, accusing the group of trying to take control of strategic locations in Khartoum, including the palace. The military also declared the RSF a rebel force and described the paramilitary’s statements as “lies.”

A military official told the AP that fighter jets took off from a military base north of Omdurman and attacked the RSF’s positions in and around Khartoum. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The clashes in Sudan came as tensions between the military and the RSF have escalated in recent months, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally backed deal with political parties to revive the country’s democratic transition.

With inputs from agencies.

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