Sudan updates: Explosions, shooting rock Khartoum

Sudanese air force has called on citizens to stay indoors as they conduct a full aerial survey of areas of RSF activity, according to a statement on the armed forces Facebook page.

Khartoum resident Bakry, 24, who works in marketing, said the capital had “never seen anything” like this unrest, which left dark smoke hanging over the capital.

“People were terrified and running back home. The streets emptied very quickly as everyone wanted to leave their homes and find shelter,” Bakry, who gave only a first name, told the AFP news agency.

Sudan’s armed forces have dismissed any possibility of negotiations or dialogue with the RSF.

There will be “no negotiations or dialogue until the dissolution of the paramilitary RSF”, the armed forces said on its Facebook page.

Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have discussed the current situation in Sudan through a phone call, according to the Saudi state news agency.

The ministers called for a halt to military escalation and a return to a framework agreement between civilian political forces and the military in Sudan, the agency added.

Egypt’s military is closely following the situation in Sudan and is coordinating with the relevant Sudanese authorities to guarantee the safety of Egyptian forces, according to army spokesman Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez.

His statement came as Sudan’s paramilitary RSF shared a video that they said showed Egyptian troops who had “surrendered” to them in Merowe, northern Sudan.

International Crisis Group’s Alan Boswell has said that the roots of the current crisis go back to the period of President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for about 30 years before he was overthrown through mass protests in 2019.

“Near the end of his time in power, the Sudanese security forces have grown very fragmented which weakened the army quite a bit,” he told Al Jazeera from Doha, adding that the army included lots of tribal militias.

“He essentially did what is called coup-proofing, in which he was concerned that any security institution would challenge him that he allowed the proliferation of different armed groups and centres within the country,” Boswell said.

He concluded that essentially the two main actors, the RSF and the army, turned against each other after colluding for four years after the removal of Bashir.

The African Union has called for an “urgent” ceasefire in a news statement.

“Today, when things have gone dangerously out of control and resort to armed violence has prevailed as a way of resolving political disputes, the President of the Commission of the African Union makes a fervent appeal to all parties, armed forces and [RSF], in particular, to immediately cease the destruction of the country, the panic of the populations and the bloodbaths of innocent people in the last 10 days of holy month of Ramadan,” it said.

Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has told Al Jazeera that the RSF attacked his residence at the army headquarters around 9am local time (07:00 GMT).

“And that’s when things got out of hand between the two sides,” Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reported.

The RSF has shared a video that it says shows Egyptian troops who had “surrendered” to them in Merowe, northern Sudan.

There was no clear explanation for the presence of Egyptian troops in Merowe, but Egyptian and Sudanese troops have periodically staged joint military exercises in the north of the country in the wake of diplomatic tensions with Ethiopia.

The video showed a number of men dressed in army fatigues crouched on the ground and speaking to members of the RSF in an Egyptian Arabic dialect to troops in RSF uniforms.

Reuters could not immediately verify the footage and Egyptian authorities did not immediately make any public comment on the matter.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has called on the Sudanese leadership to restrain their troops and deescalate after paramilitaries clashed with the army in an apparent coup attempt.

“The ongoing violence across Sudan must stop immediately,” Cleverly said on Twitter. “The UK calls on the Sudanese leadership to do all they can to restrain their troops and deescalate to prevent further bloodshed.

“Military action will not resolve this situation.”

Mohamed Alamin Ahmed, a military analyst, has told Al Jazeera from Khartoum that the RSF had the upper hand in the first hours of the clashes.

“They actually took over the airport and the presidential palace and they were about to take over the house of Burhan,” he said.

Ahmed said that the army later countered the attacks with air raids and contained the situation, balancing the power.

He added that the RSF has no air forces and is stronger on the ground with a large number of fighters.

Residents have documented the exchange of fire in the Mohandessin area of ​​Omdurman, located across the Nile river from the capital Khartoum.

Chad’s government has closed its border with Sudan and has called for calm.

“Chad appeals to the regional and international community as well as to all friendly countries to prioritise a return to peace,” it said in a statement.

Its 1,403km (872-mile) border with Sudan will remain closed until further notice, it said.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said gunfire can still be heard around the capital.

“The gunfire coming from the presidential palace died out,” she said. “It means that either the RSF or the Sudanese army is in control, but we are not sure yet who is in control of the presidential palace,” Morgan said, adding that the facility has a symbolic significance.

She also said clashes are continuing around the location of state TV in Khartoum.

A Saudi Arabian airlines plane at Sudan’s Khartoum airport came under fire during clashes, the state-owned carrier has said.

It said it had moved its passengers, crew and staff from the airport to the Saudi embassy in Khartoum.

Rival carrier Saudia said separately that it had suspended flights to and from Sudan until further notice.

RSF’s General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo says the current battle will pave the way to a peaceful solution and all criminals will stand trials.

“I cannot give a time limit to the fighting; however, we are adamant to end it with the least of losses,” he told Al Jazeera.

“I assure you that units from the armed forces have joined our ranks in Merowe; many other units have surrendered,” the general added.

“Al-Burhan is a criminal; he is a liar, circulating false rumours and no one should listen to him.”

Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has called for Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, army commanders and RSF leaders to stop the fighting immediately.

“The bullet, when it escapes from the weapon, will not differentiate between the aggressor and the non-aggressor, and the victims are the Sudanese,” Hamdok said in a video posted on his Facebook account.

“I demand al-Burhan, the army commanders, and the RSF leaders to stop the bullets immediately and for the voice of reason to rule. There is no victor over the corpses of its people.”

He called on the international community “to fulfil their duty to resolve and calm the warring parties”.

Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has told Al Jazeera in a recorded phone call that the army is in control of the presidential palace, the military headquarters and the airport.

Al-Burhan’s comments followed a live phone interview Al Jazeera aired with the RSF commander, who said his forces had seized the presidential palace, the army chief’s residence and Khartoum international airport.

Cameron Hudson, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, has said that a part of the democratic transition Sudan is trying to go through is security sector reform.

“There has been more intensive process over the last month or two to try to mediate some kind of outcome between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to figure out the future dispensation of Sudan’s security forces,” he told Al Jazeera.

Hudson said that tense talks, mounting tensions and troop deployments led to the current outcome, which is not surprising for anyone closely following the developments in the country.

“Washington is at a better place than anyone to try to intervene and mediate but what we are seeing right now is that those messages fall into deaf ears,” he added.

Saudi Arabia’s national carrier says it has suspended all flights to and from troubled Sudan “until further notice” after one of its aircraft had an incident at Khartoum airport before take-off.

The airline did not clarify if the incident resulted from an eruption of violence between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the RSF.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s state carrier, EgyptAir, has announced halting flights to and from Khartoum airport for 72 hours starting from Saturday due to the “instable security situation in Sudan”, a neighbour of Egypt.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said fighting continues in the Sudanese capital despite the calls for de-escalation.

“We can hear heavy artillery being fired in various parts of the capital Khartoum. You can see smoke rising in the northern and western parts of the capital,” she said.

Morgan said that clashes for the control of various airports had intensified across the country, as well as at other key facilities.

“Both sides are trying to control the airports because they will be major supply routes for whoever manages to control them.”

The United Arab Emirates has called all parties in Sudan to exercise restraint, de-escalate and work towards ending the crisis through dialogue, the state news agency has reported.

The agency said that the UAE embassy in Khartoum was following “with great concern the developments in Sudan and has reaffirmed the UAE’s position on the importance of de-escalation, and working towards finding a peaceful solution to the crisis between the concerned parties”.

Egypt has called on all Sudanese parties to exercise maximum restraint amid clashes between the army and the RSF.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said Egypt is following the developments of the situation in Sudan with great concern.

It called on all parties in Sudan to exercise maximum restraint in order to “protect the lives and capabilities of the brotherly Sudanese people, and uphold the supreme interests of the homeland”.

Russia says it is deeply concerned by escalating violence in Sudan and called for an urgent ceasefire.

“We urge the parties to the conflict to demonstrate political will and restraint and to take immediate steps towards a ceasefire,” the Russian Ministryof Foreign Affairs said in a statement calling for negotiations.

Russia said its embassy in the capital Khartoum was continuing to function, under heightened security measures. No Russian citizens were hurt during clashes in the African country, it said.

Violent clashes in Sudan between the army and paramilitary groups must end “immediately”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

The top US diplomat said he is “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 mobilisations 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 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan.

Sudan’s main paramilitary group says it has seized the presidential palace, the army chief’s residence and Khartoum international airport in an apparent coup attempt, but the military said it is fighting back.

The RSF, which accused the army of attacking them first, also said they had taken over the airports in the northern city of Merowe and in El-Obeid in the west.

The situation on the ground was unclear. The army said it was fighting the RSF at sites the paramilitaries said they had taken and denied that the RSF had taken Merowe Airport.

The spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces has said in an interview on the Al Jazeera Mubasher television station that the army would respond to any “irresponsible” actions, as its forces clash with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in several parts of the capital Khartoum and the country.

Brigadier-General Nabil Abdallah said in the interview that some politicians had been trying to politicise the military. He also said that RSF troops had a heavy presence at the headquarters of the state television station.

The Sudan doctors’ committee says three people have been killed and dozens injured in recent clashes between the army and the powerful paramilitary force.

In a statement, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said two civilians were killed at the country’s airport and another man was shot to death in the state of North Kordofan. The statement did not specify how the two people had died at the airport, which was a flashpoint in the recent violence, with the two forces battling to control it.

The group added that dozens more were injured around the country, with some in an unstable condition.

Clashes are taking place at the headquarters of Sudan’s state TV network, an anchor who appeared briefly on the screen said.

The Reuters news agency reported that gunshots could be heard in the background,

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has called army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan a criminal and accused the army of carrying out a coup, in a phone interview with Al Jazeera.

Also known as Hemedti, the RSF leader said his troops were forced into a confrontation.

The head of the United Nations mission in Sudan called Saturday for an “immediate” end to fighting between the regular army and paramilitaries.

UNITAMS chief Volker Perthes “strongly condemns the eruption of fighting in Sudan”, it said in a statement.

“Perthes has reached out to both parties asking them for an immediate cessation of fighting to ensure the safety of the Sudanese people and to spare the country from further violence.”

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan speaking from Khartoum reported more and more areas were now caught in the fighting between the armed forces and the RSF.

“In addition to the capital and Marawi, there is also fighting in the southwest part of the country. In North Darfur, there are also clashes reported between the armed forces and RSF over control of the airport,” she added.

Meanwhile, at Khartoum airport, unverified videos of armed men on the tarmac circulated on social media, with some airlines on fire.

An official from former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s era said he hoped the fighting would end soon and the country would return to a more stable state.

“War in Sudan is not an easy game. We have seen it in other parts of the country. This is the first time you see it in the capital of Khartoum,” Ahmed Ibrahim told Al Jazeera.

“We hope that different parties can find common ground for the sake of the Sudanese people.”

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the situation in Sudan was “fragile” but insisted there was still an opportunity to complete the transition to a civilian-led government.

Speaking from Hanoi, Blinken said the situation was “fragile” as some actors “may be pushing against that progress”.

Social activist Duaa Tariq said that the escalation has not caught people off guard.

“We have been preparing for this. We’ve seen the military appearing all over Khartoum over the past two weeks. Given the statements by the military and RSF, this was not a surprise. But of course, the sounds of shooting and bombing are terrifying,” she added.

“We are not worried about the lack of a political agreement because it was clear it was not going anywhere.”

Sudan’s armed forces says the country’s air force has “destroyed” the Tibah and Soba camps of the  “externally-backed” RSF.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claim.

“We urge our honorable citizens to stay away from the streets of the neighborhoods,” the army said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Founding director of Khartoum-based think tank Confluence Advisory Kholood Khair says the military and the RSF have always been at loggerheads because of their divergent visions on consolidating power.

But because they both want to avoid accountability and committing to security sector reforms that may curtail their powers, they have been working together, he said.

“There are signs that they are working together to escalate the tensions and very publicly show this escalation to get concessions from pro-democracy forces, only then to de-escalate those tensions. This has been a cycle of rinse and repeat over the past few years,” Khair noted.

“An armed conflict is always possible and likely, precisely because of the power struggle between [General Abdel Fattah al-]Burhan and [Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo or] Hemeti that supersedes all these machinations. They come together when they need to resist reforms and democratic gains. When things don’t go their way, we see things heating up. It is those different impulses playing out, which means that regardless of whether there is a de-escalation or not, there is always a likelihood of a clash.”

“What makes this particular incident in Marawi interesting is that we’ve seen the armed forces come out and almost call out the actions of the RSF as an act of war. This is a type of escalation we haven’t seen before, which is giving people anxiety.”

The Sudanese air force is conducting operations to confront the RSF, the Reuters news agency has reported citing an army statement.

Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum.

Khartoum-based activist Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem says she could hear heavy artillery being used around her house, located near an RSF base.

“Our house is shaking. All I can see are plumes of smoke. We are not venturing out because we really don’t know what’s happening.”

“It is very frightening. They have reached a point of no return. This latest escalation means that all the talks and negotiations have failed miserably because until last night we were being told that an agreement had been reached between the RSF and the army.”

Sudan’s former Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi says she felt “very sad, angry and enraged” as she heard the sound of warplanes, shooting and bombings from her home in Khartoum.

“I say to them both [army and RSF], shame on you. You have been entrusted with this great revolution. You already committed a coup and we came back to our sense as sensible people, the Sudanese,” she told Al Jazeera.

“You pledged to deliver the power back to the civilians and now while the political civilian operation comes to its end, there is an eruption of this nonsensical war. This demonstrates how these two armed men disregard the Sudanese people.”

The Sudanese army has issued a statement saying it has declared the RSF a “rebel force”, describing the paramilitary’s claims as “lies”.

The army-RSF rivalry dates back to the rule of President Omar al-Bashir, who was removed in 2019.

Under al-Bashir, the RSF grew out of government-backed former armed groups known as the Janjaweed that carried out a crackdown in Sudan’s Darfur region during the decades of conflict there.

Malik Agar of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (North) tells Al Jazeera the fighting between the army and the RSF came as a “surprise” amid recent mediation efforts between the two entities.

“Both sides assured us they would freeze the situation. We did not think it would escalate as it is now,” he said. “We don’t know who started it but it’s unfortunate.”

Agar said the immediate priority was to call for an immediate ceasefire, adding that continuation of the violence would lead to “devastating” consequences.

Sulaima El Khalifa of the Sudanese government’s Unit for Combating Violence against Women and Children says she woke up to the sound of loud gunfire near her home in Khartoum.

“Everybody is freaking out. Nobody has any information about what is happening. Even on national channels, the broadcast is as if it is a normal day. We have not had any statements. We have not received any direction or advice on how to protect ourselves,” she told Al Jazeera.

Russia’s embassy in Sudan says it is concerned by an “escalation of violence” in the country and calls for a ceasefire and negotiations, the state-owned Russian news agency RIA reported.

The embassy said the atmosphere in Khartoum was tense but Russian diplomats were safe.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan says there is an ongoing exchange of heavy gunfire between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese military on the ground of the airport and its vicinity.

“The RSF are trying to take over Khartoum International Airport. They have taken over the airbase in Marawi which is where this whole tension escalated between the RSF and the army,” she reported.

“Fighting continues in other parts of the capital, mostly on the southern side of the capital, around the presidential palace.”

United States Ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey says he is sheltering with his team amid “deeply disturbing” sounds of gunfire.

“Escalation of tensions within the military component to direct fighting is extremely dangerous. I urgently call on senior military leaders to stop the fighting,” he tweeted.

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, speaking from Doha, says the fighting in Khartoum has been “in the making since 2019”.

“The ingredients of this situation have been accumulating over the last few years and everyone, every person observing Sudan, was expecting what happened today sooner or later,” he said.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces says it has taken control of Khartoum international airport, Reuters news agency reported.

The RSF said in a statement not only had it been able to take control of the airport, but also the Merowe military base in the north of the country. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the RSF’s claims.

Earlier, the RSF said the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, says fighting is ongoing.

“We are hearing gunfire in the capital near the vicinity of the presidential palace in the northern part of the capital, as well as in Soba,” said Morgan.

“Lots of confusion here with regard to what is happening at the moment. People are terrified.”

Heavy gunfire has been reported from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, as clashes erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Gunfire was heard in the vicinity of army headquarters and the defence ministry in central Khartoum.

The rift between the forces came to the surface on Thursday when the army said recent movements by RSF – a powerful paramilitary group – had happened without coordination and were illegal.