Civilian Death Toll Rises To 97 As Sudan Battles Intensify On Third Day
As the weekend’s civilian death toll swelled to 97, Sudan’s beleaguered capital awakened on Monday to a third day of intense fighting between the army and a strong opposition group for control of the nation.
Parts of Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman experienced an increase in airstrikes and shelling. There was rapid, continuous firing nearby the military headquarters, and white smoke was billowing. Looting and power disruptions were reported by the locals.
General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, chief of the armed forces, are engaged in a power struggle. The two were once close friends and worked together to plan the military takeover of Sudan in October 2021, which short-circuited the country’s democratic transition.
Both men have taken a stand, declaring that they won’t discuss a cease-fire but will instead trade insults and demand the other’s submission. Both, though, have strong outside supporters, putting them potentially vulnerable to growing international pressure.
According to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, a pro-democracy organization keeping track of casualties, 97 civilians have been murdered and hundreds more have been injured since fighting broke out on Saturday.
The number of fighters killed has not been confirmed by an official source.
A video that appeared online on Monday claimed to depict the RSF barracks in Omdurman, where scores of men’s bodies were found sprawled on beds, the floor of a medical wing, and in a sandy outdoor area while wearing camouflage uniforms. Another video appeared to show citizens robbing the base of food.
The tapes’ veracity could not be independently verified, although they emerged after the military claimed to have attacked RSF bases with airstrikes. RSF forces have left the camp, according to RSF adviser Mohmed al-Mokhtar al-Nour, who spoke with the Al Jazeera satellite network on Sunday.
A hospital south of Khartoum was reportedly struck by a stray shell on Monday morning without anyone being hurt, according to the doctors’ union.
Unprecedented battle involving tanks, truck-mounted machine guns, artillery, and warplanes in the capital’s highly populated sections. Sudan has a lengthy history of civil unrest, much of which has occurred outside of Khartoum in isolated tribal areas.
The three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday follows the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which occurred during that time.
Leading officials, including the US Secretary of State, the UN Secretary-General, the head of EU foreign policy, the head of the Arab League, and the head of the African Union Commission, pleaded with the sides to put an end to their hostilities. Later on Monday, the UN Security Council was scheduled to discuss the developments in Sudan.