NAIROBI, Kenya — Fighting broke out Saturday across the Sudanese capital and in several other cities as months of heightened tensions between rival factions of the armed forces suddenly turned into an all-out battle. to gain control of one of Africa’s largest countries.
Clashes at a military base in the capital Khartoum quickly spread to the presidential palace, international Airport and the headquarters of the state television station. Residents cowered in their homes as explosions rang out and fighter jets hissed on rooftops. An internal United Nations report cites at least 27 dead and 400 injured.
As of Saturday night, it was still unclear who controlled Sudan, a large and strategically important country south of Egypt.
The chaos is an alarming turn of events for a country that just four years ago was an inspiration to both Africa and the Arab world. The jubilant protesters, symbolized in part by a young woman in white robe, overthrow their widely hated ruler for three decades, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, open hope for democracy and ended the country’s severe isolation.
The Revolution failed 18 months ago when two of Sudan’s most powerful generals, now fighting each other, unite to seize power in a coup. But the pro-democracy protesters refused to back down, continuing to die in the protests, and the fate of Sudan remains a preoccupation of Western countries, especially the United States.
Part of that is because Sudan has become a flashpoint in the broader global rivalry between the West and Russia.
The Kremlin-backed private military company Wagner has deployed mercenaries to Sudan and run a large gold mining franchisewhile the Russian government urged Sudan to allow Russian warships to dock in the Red Sea.
The Sudanese military, which has struggled to rule effectively, is expected to hand power back to civilian leaders this month, as part of a Western-backed deal. But all hopes of a peaceful transition were dashed early Saturday when relations strained between the most powerful military leaders – the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan, commander of the powerful Rapid Support Force paramilitary force. – become violent.
As fighting spread across Khartoum, videos circulating on social media showed soldiers opening fire in the streets, armored vehicles speeding through residential areas and tourists sheltering on the airport floor amid reports. about gunfire outside the station.
Western officials said Sudanese army warplanes, flying low over the city, hit Rapid Support Force camps at several locations around the city.
Saudia Airlines said in a statement that one of its planes was damaged on the runway at the airport. One person posted a video from inside the plane, saying that two people were killed in the seat behind him. It is unclear whether the two incidents are related.
By Saturday night, both sides were accusing the other of starting the fighting and making conflicting statements about who controls key sites like the presidential palace and the airport.
Western and United Nations officials said clashes broke out in at least six cities outside the capital. Many are in the western region of Darfur, the site of brutal civil strife over the past two decades.
There are concerns that the conflict could attract Sudan’s neighbors. Chad, which shares a 600-mile border with Sudan, most of which borders Darfur, said it would close its border until further notice.
Egypt has openly sided with the Sudanese military as tensions rise. General Hamdan’s forces posted a video on Saturday from a military base in Meroe, 125 miles north of Khartoum, showing recently captured Egyptian soldiers.
In a statement, the Egyptian military confirmed it had troops in Sudan and said it was working with the Sudanese government to ensure their well-being.
With internet and television services still operating, the warring army generals issued verbal criticism as their troops clashed on the ground. General Hamdan told Al Jazeera in an interview in which he called General al-Burhan a liar and a “thief.”
“We will arrest Burhan and bring him to justice, or else he will die like any dog,” he added.
An army spokesman called General Hamdan, who until Saturday morning was officially Sudan’s deputy leader, a “rebel”. Later, on its Facebook page, the military said there would be “no negotiations or dialogue” until the Rapid Support Force was disbanded.
The chaotic scene in the capital, many of which took place outside the windows of terrified residents filming with their cell phones, is alarming even in a country with a long history of military takeover. Although Sudan has experienced many coups More than any other African country, no country engaged in such fierce battle between rival wings of armed forces in the heart of the capital.
Although it is too early to say whether the country will descend into civil war, several people who have been contacted by phone say they feel the same way.
“I’m not surprised at all,” says Galal Yousif, an artist in Khartoum. “Unfortunately, on the one hand the militia, and on the other a general turned the army into a militia to help him maintain power.”
The latest clashes, he said, have undermined the efforts of all Sudanese who took to the streets to fight for democracy during the 2019 mass uprising, he said: “It’s like it happened. out with nothing.
The mayhem is also a blow to the diplomatic efforts of US, United Nations, African Union and Arab officials who have tried to avert possible clashes.
Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken, say on Twitter that he is “deeply concerned” about the clashes in Sudan. He called on the warring generals to “continue to negotiate to resolve outstanding issues”.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which also have influence in Sudan, have joined the public appeal to de-escalate tensions. The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles, said the protection of civilians should be a priority.
The confrontation caused alarm in Moscow, where the Russian Foreign Ministry called for “restraint and urgent steps towards a ceasefire”.
This is supposed to be the week when Sudan’s warring generals will give up power rather than fight for it.
Under the Western-backed deal signed in December, General al-Burhan and General Hamdan agreed to hand power back to a civilian-led government, effectively reversing the 2021 coup.
But any transition requires agreement on how quickly they will unite their forces – a source of bitter, seemingly insurmountable disagreement. Diplomats involved in the negotiations said some senior officers wanted a unified military within two years. General Hamdan insists it will take at least 10 years.
As night fell on Saturday, reports that fighting had spread to military bases in the Darfur area raised concerns that some heavily armed rebel groups in the area could caught up in the fighting.
Other Sudanese expressed their frustration with UN officials and foreign diplomats they accused of forging a politically unfeasible deal while failing to defuse the issue. The most pressing: internal military tensions broke out.
“The political process has not solved the most dangerous issue,” said Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, a former senior adviser to Abdalla Hamdok, the civilian prime minister ousted in 2021. . That makes no sense.”
Mr. al-Bashir, a former dictator who was ousted in 2019, has been held in Khartoum’s Kober prison for nearly four years. But the continuing turmoil is seen by many as a by-product of his three decades in power.
While in power, al-Bashir oversaw a brutal campaign of state-sponsored genocidal violence in Darfur that prompted the International Criminal Court to prosecute him for war crimes, and this paved the way for the rise of General Hamdan, widely known as Hemeti.
From a humble background, General Hamdan first rose to fame as the commander of the infamous janjaweed and militia responsible for the worst atrocities in that conflict. His success in quelling the uprising earned him the favor of Mr al-Bashir, who in 2013 appointed him head of the newly formed Quick Support Force.
Since then, General Hamdan has become influential and wealthy, with a business empire that includes vast gold mining interests. But recently, he has touted himself as a reincarnated democrat – and possibly a future leader of Sudan.
In recent months, he has forged an unlikely alliance with a coalition of civilian political parties, including those once attacked by his army. But at the same time, his war of words with General al-Burhan, his assumed boss and army commander, became more and more intense.
The two generals began to openly criticize each other, while simultaneously moving more troops into rival camps across Khartoum. Speaking to The New York Times last month, Abdul Rahim Dagalo, deputy commander of the Rapid Support Force, and a close brother of General Hamdan, accused the army chief of building a wall around it. his headquarters to isolate him from the country.
“He doesn’t care what happens outside the wall,” Dagalo said from his Khartoum mansion. “He doesn’t care if the rest of the country burns down.”
Abdi Latif Dahir contribution report from Nairobi, Anushka Patil from New York, Euan ward from London and Matina Stevis-Gridneff from Brussels.
