Thousands of civilians flee battle-scarred Khartoum due to gunfire between army, paramilitaries

Khartoum, Sudan: On Wednesday, thousands of civilians left the capital of Sudan because of gunfire between the army and paramilitaries that continued after a 24-hour cease-fire, according to witnesses.

More than 270 civilians have died in five days of fighting in Khartoum and other parts of the nation of northeastern Africa, according to foreign embassies on Wednesday.

Attacks on foreign diplomats have occurred, and Martin Griffiths, the UN’s emergency assistance coordinator, reported that the organisation had been made aware of “reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers.”

Governments began preparing to evacuate their population, including several UN employees.

The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition.

“Life in Khartoum is impossible if this war does not stop,” said Alawya al-Tayeb, 33, on her way out of the capital.

“I tried to make children not see the slain bodies on the streets,” she said, adding that her children currently suffer from shock and will need treatment.

Deafening explosions rattled buildings and heavy gunfire was heard in Khartoum, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

A 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire announced by South Sudan failed to take hold at its proposed start at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.

Escalating violence

“Neither side seems to be winning at the moment, and given the intensity of the violence, things could get even worse before the two generals come to the negotiating table,” according to Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Paris’s Sorbonne University.

On Wednesday, the RSF said it would “fully commit to a complete ceasefire”, again from 1600 GMT and for 24 hours. The army had made no comment on such a development.

Thousands of people took matters into their own hands and, according to witnesses, began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

“We are now on our way to Madani to stay with our relatives after my family and kids lived through the terror of explosions,” said Mohamed Saleh, 43, a government employee.

“We were very worried fighters would start storming homes.”

Foreigners stuck

“The toll has been high, with initial estimated civilian deaths of more than 270,” the US Embassy wrote in a statement signed by 14 other diplomatic missions in Sudan.

The real toll is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors’ union.

Out of 59 main hospitals in Khartoum, about 39 are currently “out of service”, said the union which reported “severe shortages” in remaining facilities.

Japan said its defence ministry had begun the “necessary preparations” to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

Berlin aborted on Wednesday an evacuation attempt involving three military transport planes, which would have carried 150 citizens, according to the German weekly Der Spiegel.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens’ personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

“Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation,” it tweeted.

The violence has also seen a US diplomatic convoy fired upon, the European Union’s ambassador attacked at home and a Belgian humanitarian official with the EU hospitalised after being shot.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies.

RSF has since Saturday captured a group of Egyptian soldiers in the northern city of Meroe. It said they have now been transported to Khartoum.

“They will be handed over (to Egypt) whenever there is a chance,” it said in a statement.

Army chief Burhan counts on support from Egypt, which according to experts unequivocally favours the military establishment.

Crackdown

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy — in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

The battles that began Saturday are the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021 the pair led a military coup against the civilian government installed following Bashir’s ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose to the ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was “necessary” to include more factions in politics.

But Daglo, whose RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, has since called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashir’s remnants.

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