Coup in Sudan: clashes between army and paramilitary cause the death of at least 56 civilians

At least 56 civilians diedincluding three UN employees, in the past 24 hours in Sudan, where the army and a powerful paramilitary group are clashing this Sunday for the second consecutive day.

Violence broke out on Saturday in the midst of a power struggle between the two generals who organized the 2021 coup.

Sunday the regular army and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (FAR) they faced each other with heavy weapons in the northern suburbs of the capital, Khartoum, and in the south of the city, according to witnesses.

Both sides announced the opening of humanitarian corridors for three hours, in order to evacuate the wounded.

fears

Khartoum residents, left without water or electricity, They lived for 24 hours entrenched in their homes, while street fighting with heavy weapons takes place in the streets.

“The shooting and explosions don’t stop,” said Ahmed Hamid, a 34-year-old resident of a northern suburb of Khartoum.

The fighting is concentrated in the capital and in Darfur, in the west of the country.

A network of pro-democracy doctors has given a toll of 56 civilians and “dozens” of fighters killed and more than 600 wounded.

The World Food Program announced the suspension of its operations in the country after the deaths of three employees working for this specialized United Nations agency on Saturday.

The conflict has been brewing for weeks, preventing a political settlement in one of the world’s poorest countries. Since the popular uprising that toppled Omar al Bashir in 2019, Sudan is attempting to hold its first free elections after 30 years of dictatorship.

During the coup that ended the democratic transition in October 2021, the head of the army, Abdel Fatah al Burhan, and the head of the FAR, general Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as “Hemedti”, they joined forces to oust civilians from power.

But on Saturday the rivalry between the two generals degenerated into violence.

Argue

Both sides blame the other for the violence and claim to control key locations in the capital.

announce it the capture of Khartoum International Airport and the Presidential Palacebut the army assures that it continues to monitor them.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the two generals to ask “an immediate cessation of violence”.

The African Union (AU) has announced that the president of the commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, will travel “immediately” to Sudan to guide both sides towards a ceasefire.

The Arab League, at the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation.

Countries such as China, the United Kingdom, Russia or members of the African Union and the European Union have called for a ceasefire. And Pope Francis has urged a resumption of dialogue in the country.

But for now the two generals don’t seem willing to talk. “Burhan, the criminal, must surrender,” Hemedti said in an interview with Emirati network Sky News Arabia.

The army, for its part, posted a “wanted notice” against Hemedti on Facebook. “This escaped criminal is wanted by justice,” reads the message.

The latest episode of violence is added the repression of demonstrations pro-democracy attacks that have rocked the country over the past 18 months, killing more than 120 civilians.

The dispute between the two generals blocks the democratic transition requested by the international community to resume aid to Sudan, one of the poorest countries in the world.

Burhan, a soldier who rose through the ranks under now-imprisoned Islamist general Bashir, said the 2021 coup was “necessary” to bring more factions into politics.

Give him, for his part, he called the coup a “mistake” because it failed to bring about change and reactivated some elements of the Bashir regime, overthrown by the army in 2019 after massive protests.