Sudan warring parties continue fighting in Khartoum

The Sudanese capital experienced continued fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday morning. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the RSF of storming the residence of the Somali ambassador in Khartoum. Journalists faced harassment from RSF-affiliated assailants and Military Intelligence officers. In a tweet on Monday, the RSF shared the disappointment of the Saudi-US mediation over the renewed fighting.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intensively bombarded RSF positions of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) near the Wadi Sayedna military airbase, in northern Omdurman.

Targets in Khartoum included El Kalakla, El Shajara, and El Ghaba Streetin Khartoum, as well as the areas of Halfaya and Shambat farms in Khartoum North (Khartoum Bahri). The bombardments continued until 16:00 in the afternoon, sources reported.

Saleh Abdallah, Editor-in-chief of online newspaper El Dawahi, confirmed the sounds of gunfire and explosions in the Halfaya area in Khartoum North, and of warplanes and explosions in the south-western parts of Khartoum.

Raided

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the RSF of entering the house of the Somali ambassador in Khartoum’s El Riyadh neighbourhood on Sunday evening.

In a statement yesterday, the ministry called the raid “a flagrant violation of international norms and laws protecting diplomatic missions and international organizations”. The paramilitaries destroyed furniture and stole valuables, including two vehicles belonging to the Somali embassy.

The Sudanese Journalists Network condemned the storming of the house of Mohamed Amin,a correspondent for El Sharq El Awsat newspaper in Khartoum’s Burri suburb. The assailants involved in this incident were reportedly affiliated with the RSF.

Another incident involved a force from the RSF forcibly taking Emad El Nadif, a journalist for El Intibaha newspaper, from a public transport vehicle and subjecting him to a search at gunpoint.

The network also condemned the detention of journalist Khalida El Lagani from El Tayar newspaper and photographer Arwa by a Military Intelligence unit at the Sudanese-Egyptian border. The two journalists were interrogated for four hours at the Argeen crossing while conducting interviews with people stranded at the border. After their release, the intelligence unit confiscated their camera.

 Criticism

The USA and Saudi Arabia criticised the resumption of violence by the army and RSF following the expiry of the 24-hour truce on Sunday early morning.

The RSF in a tweet on Monday said that “the El Burhan coup militia exploited the ceasefire to their advantage by mobilizing forces from different regions and launching an attack on our forces shortly after the armistice ended. As a result, our only option was to defend ourselves and repel the insurgents on all fronts”.

The paramilitary organisation reaffirmed its commitment to the Jeddah Declaration to Protect the Civilians of Sudan and expressed no objection to civilian participation in the talks.

“We place strong emphasis on unwavering compliance with human rights laws and international humanitarian law, underscoring our preparedness to actively participate in dialogues that seek to establish lasting stability for our citizens.”

The RSF also expressed shared disappointment with the Saudi-US mediation over the renewed fighting.