KHARTOUM, April 17 (Reuters) - Fighting has erupted across Khartoum and at other sites in Sudan in a battle between two powerful rival military factions, engulfing the capital in warfare for the first time and raising the risk of a nationwide civil conflict.
Tension had been building for months between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which together toppled a civilian government in an October 2021 coup.
The friction was brought to a head by an internationally-backed plan to launch a new transition with civilian parties.
Smoke rises from the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport as a fire burns, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 17.
Gulf states have pursued investments in sectors including agriculture, where Sudan holds vast potential, and ports on Sudan's Red Sea coast.