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The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the eighth week of a power struggle with the army, attacked the Yarmouk complex on Tuesday, witnesses said. Due to the proximity of fuel and gas depots, "any explosion could destroy residents and the whole area", he said. Residents in Omdurman and Bahri reported towering flames were visible after nightfall at Yarmouk as clashes continued there. The RSF quickly seized swathes of the capital after war erupted in Khartoum on April 15. The army and RSF, which together staged a coup in 2021, fell out over the chain of command and military restructuring plans under the transition.
Persons: RSF, Nader Youssef, Omar al, Bashir, Bahri, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa, Aidan Lewis, Mark Heinrich, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Residents, Army, UNICEF, International Organization for Migration, United, Saudi TV, Al, United Arab Emirates, European Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Darfur KHARTOUM, Yarmouk, Bahri, Omdurman, Darfur, Khartoum's Mygoma, Sudan, El Geneina, West Darfur, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, United States, Al Arabiya
The gunmen arrived at dawn on motorcycles, horses and in cars. For hours afterward, they fired into houses, rampaged through shops and razed clinics, witnesses said, in a frenzied attack that upended life in El Geneina, a city in the Darfur region of Sudan. Truce agreements have so far failed to end the brutal fighting that broke out on April 15 between the Sudanese army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has decimated many areas of the capital, Khartoum. But the war between the military factions has also swept across the country to the long-suffering western region of Darfur — an area already blighted by two decades of genocidal violence.
Persons: Peace Organizations: Rapid Support Forces Locations: El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya said the two sides had agreed to indirect talks without providing details. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said on Sunday he had spoken with Farhan and expressed his support for the Jeddah platform. Artillery and air strikes continued overnight, with residents in southern and eastern Khartoum and northern Bahri reporting sounds of artillery and gun clashes on Tuesday morning. Looters, some of whom Khartoum residents and neighbourhood committees said belong to the RSF, have pillaged neighbourhoods, stealing cars, breaking open safes, and occupying homes. Aid groups have struggled to provide extensive assistance to Khartoum residents, who face electricity and water shortages as well as dwindling supplies in shops and pharmacies.
Persons: Al Arabiya, RSF, General Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Faisal bin Farhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Farhan, Jawahir Mohamed, El Obeid, Dafallah al, Haj, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Adam Makary, Christina Fincher, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Sovereign, Artillery, army's Engineers Corps, Engineers ' Corps, Emergency Lawyers, Nafisa, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, United States, Saudi Arabia, Al Arabiya, Khartoum, Saudi, Jeddah, Bahri, OMDURMAN, Omdurman, Darfur, Egypt, Sudan, Dubai, Cairo
Late on Sunday, residents reported intense fighting across the three cities that make up the nation's wider capital - Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri - and smoke could be seen rising from several areas early on Monday. In Khartoum East district, RSF troops who have spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital were in full control and were looting extensively, said Waleed Adam, a resident of the area. Residents have also reported widespread looting and insecurity in the area. There was no immediate comment from the army, which had denied on Sunday that the RSF had taken the town. In El Obeid, a city 360 km (220 miles) southwest of Khartoum and on a key route from the capital to Darfur, residents reported large deployments of RSF forces and the closure of some roads.
Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Mohamed Saleh, Waleed Adam, El, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Aidan Lewis, Sriraj Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, U.S, Reuters, North Darfur State, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Sudan Khartoum, Darfur, DUBAI, Khartoum, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman, Bahri, Khartoum East district, DARFUR, Sudan's, Kutum, North Darfur, El Obeid, Dubai, Cairo
Fighting escalates in Khartoum after ceasefire expires
  + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
DUBAI, June 4 (Reuters) - Residents of Sudan's capital Khartoum reported a sharp escalation of clashes in several areas of the capital on Sunday after the expiry of a ceasefire deal between rival military factions brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States. It had led to some decrease in the intensity of fighting and limited humanitarian access, but like previous truce deals it was repeatedly violated. Among the areas where fighting was reported on Sunday were central and southern Khartoum, and Bahri, across the Blue Nile to the north. "In southern Khartoum we are living in terror of violent bombardment, the sound of anti-aircraft guns and power cuts. Beyond the capital, deadly fighting has also broken out in the remote western region of Darfur, already scarred by a long-running conflict and huge humanitarian challenges.
Persons: Witnesses, Sara Hassan, Khalid Abdelaziz, Ahmed Tolba, Hatem Maher, Aidan Lewis, Frances Kerry Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Sudan's, Khartoum, Saudi Arabia, United States, Omdurman, U.S, Jeddah, Bahri, Darfur, Dubai, Cairo
Fighting escalates in Sudan's capital after ceasefire expires
  + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
The ceasefire between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had started on May 22 and expired on Saturday evening. Beyond the capital, deadly fighting has also broken out in Darfur in the far west of Sudan, already grappling with long-running unrest and huge humanitarian challenges. There was no comment from the army, which has been using war planes to target the RSF spread out across the capital. Fighting in the capital has led to widespread damage and looting, a collapse in health services, power and water cuts, and dwindling food supplies. Hemedti's whereabouts are unclear though he appeared in video footage with his troops in central Khartoum earlier in the fighting.
Persons: Sara Hassan, Witnesses, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Khalid Abdelaziz, Ahmed Tolba, Hatem Maher, Omar Abdel, Aidan Lewis, Frances Kerry, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rapid Support Forces, Darfur Bar Association, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Saudi, U.S, DUBAI, Sudan's, North Darfur, Saudi Arabia, United States, Bahri, Omdurman, Jeddah, Dubai, Razek, Cairo
Sudan fighters take over Khartoum museum, director says
  + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese paramilitary fighters have taken over the national museum in Khartoum, its deputy director said on Saturday, urging them to protect precious artefacts from the nation's heritage that include ancient mummies. Members of the Rapid Support Forces group that has been fighting the army since mid-April for control of Sudan entered the museum on Friday, said deputy director Ikhlas Abdellatif. Museum staff do not know the situation inside the museum because they halted work there after the conflict suddenly erupted on April 15, forcing police guarding the facility to quit, Abdellatif said. The RSF released a video filmed inside the museum grounds showing a soldier denying that they had done any harm to the museum or would do so, and inviting any individuals or organisations to visit the museum to check. The video also showed RSF fighters covering up exposed mummies with sheets and closing the plain white boxes in which they were contained.
Persons: Ikhlas Abdellatif, Abdellatif, Hatim Alnour, Roxanne Trioux, Omar al, Bashir, Abdel, Fattah, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemedti, Sami, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Angus McDowall, Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry Organizations: Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Museum, . Security, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, Khartoum, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, United States, Omdurman, Bahri, Washington, Riyadh, U.S, Dubai, Cairo
Sudanese forces clash in Khartoum after talks break down
  + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
AID SUPPLIES LOOTEDOutside Khartoum, the worst fighting has been in the Darfur region, where a civil war has simmered since 2003, killing around 300,000 people. The U.N.'s World Food Programme and its refugee agency UNHCR said continued looting was disrupting their efforts to help Sudanese, calling on all parties to respect humanitarian work. The UNHCR said two of its offices in Khartoum were pillaged and its warehouse in El Obeid was targeted on Thursday. With the ceasefire talks off, Khartoum residents are bracing for further problems. It's like they're alternating forms of torture," said Omer Ibrahim, who lives in a district of Omdurman that has seen little fighting.
Persons: Din Abdalrahman, Mohamed Abdallah Idris, Omar al, Bashir, Abdel, Fattah, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemdti, El Obeid, Omer Ibrahim, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Angus McDowall, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, UNHCR, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, U.S, Khartoum, Omdurman, Sudan, The U.S, Saudi Arabia, Washington, Darfur, West Darfur, Chad, El, Cairo, Dubai
[1/2] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. Sudan's army and the RSF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said late on Thursday they were suspending the talks, a day after Sudan's army announced it was halting its participation. They target Sudan's largest defence enterprise, Defence Industries System, which the Treasury said generates an estimated $2 billion in revenue and manufactures arms and other equipment for Sudan's army. The companies, all key to the business and procurement activities of both forces, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Nadir Ahmed, Joe Biden, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Antony Blinken, Omar al, Bashir, El, Cindy McCain, Cameron Hudson, Hudson, Khalid Abdelaziz, Tala, Nafisa Eltahir, Simon Lewis, Rami Ayyub, Daphne Psaledakis, Gladwys, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, Darfur Saudi, U.S . Treasury Department, Residents, U.S, Defence Industries System, Treasury, Technology, United Nations, Food, Army, Centre, Strategic, International Studies, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Jeddah, KHARTOUM, WASHINGTON, United States, U.S, Nile, Omdurman, Bahri, Thawra, Saudi Arabia, Washington, El, Zalingei, Port Sudan, El Obeid, Russia, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Oslo
CNN —The Biden administration on Thursday imposed financial sanctions and visa restrictions in response to the ongoing violence in Sudan. The announcement of the sanctions comes a day after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced it was walking away from talks with the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following numerous ceasefire violations by both sides and as the conflict in Sudan – which has killed hundreds, injured thousands, and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe – continues. “It’s important, in our view, to hold people accountable and to recognize that until the calculus of both parties change they will continue to fight each other and destroy this country,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday. In addition to the financial sanctions, the US State Department imposed visa restrictions “on specific individuals in Sudan, including officials from the SAF, RSF, and leaders from the former Omar al-Bashir regime, responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The State Department did not specify who the individuals are.
Persons: CNN —, Biden, , Joe Biden, Omar al, Bashir, Antony Blinken, , , Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan –, Al Junaid, Hemedti, Abdul Rahim Dagalo, Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: CNN, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Rapid Support Forces, US Treasury Department, US State Department, State Department, Treasury Department, Al, Co, Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo . Defense Industries, Technology, Defense Industries System, Department, Sudan “ Locations: Sudan, , Saudi, Jeddah, , United States, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
[1/2] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. In El Obeid, a regional hub to the southwest of Khartoum that has seen clashes, the World Food Programme said food and assets were being looted. REGIONAL CLASHESOutside Khartoum, clashes have flared in major cities in the western region of Darfur. The calm Red Sea coast city Port Sudan has served as a base for the United Nations, aid groups, and diplomats as well as some government officials. "The army is carrying out strict security procedures in the city, in particular at night," said resident Salah Mohamed.
Persons: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, El, Cindy McCain, Nadir Ahmed, Salah Mohamed, Khalid Abdelaziz, Tala, Nafisa Eltahir, Daphne Psaledakis, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, U.S, Food, U.S . State Department, UN, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum North, Sudan, KHARTOUM, Washington, Khartoum, Saudi Arabia, United States, El Obeid, Saudi, Jeddah, U.S, Bahri, Omdurman, Thawra, Darfur, El, Zalingei, Port Sudan, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, May 31 (Reuters) - Sudan's army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and about enabling humanitarian access, a Sudanese diplomatic source said, raising fears of fresh bloodshed in the more than six-week-old conflict. Residents reported heavy clashes in southern Khartoum and in Omdurman across the River Nile until late on Tuesday. The RSF said in a statement late on Tuesday it was committed to the ceasefire "despite repeated violations" by the army. Before the ceasefire deal was renewed, an army source said the army had demanded the RSF withdraw from civilian homes and hospitals as a condition for an extension. After Bashir was toppled in an popular uprising, the army and RSF leaders staged a coup in 2021 before they due to hand leadership to civilians.
Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, RSF, Omar al, Bashir, Michael Georgy, Andrew Heavens, Edmund Blair Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Residents, United Nations, Thomson Locations: JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Khartoum, Omdurman, United States, Darfur, Sudan's, Port Sudan
Sudanese army suspends ceasefire talks
  + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +5 min
The RSF said in a statement late on Tuesday it was committed to the ceasefire "despite repeated violations" by the army. CHALLENGING NEGOTIATIONSCommenting on the Sudanese army's withdrawal from the Jeddah talks, Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, African Union spokesperson on the crisis in Sudan, said: "It is not surprising. We hope the mediator will succeed to bring both parties for working on an expected ceasefire." Before the ceasefire deal was renewed, an army source said the army had demanded the RSF withdraw from civilian homes and hospitals as a condition for an extension. After the five-day extension was agreed, talks continued on the truce terms.
Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Hemedti's, Dagalo, Mohamed El Hacen, Hemedti, Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Dawit, Michael Georgy, Edmund Blair, Mark Heinrich, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Nations, REUTERS, Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, KHARTOUM, Saudi, Jeddah, Khartoum's Mogran, Omdurman, Bahri, Sudan, au, Saudi Arabia, United States, Darfur, Sudan's, Port Sudan, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Addis Ababa
Heavy clashes in Sudan's capital as truce set to expire
  + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
DUBAI, May 29 (Reuters) - Heavy and sustained clashes could be heard on Monday in parts of Sudan's capital, residents said, hours before the expiry of a shaky ceasefire deal that had brought some respite from a six-week-old conflict but little humanitarian access. Fighting continued from Sunday into Monday in the south and west of Omdurman, one of three adjoining cities that make up Sudan's greater capital. Across the River Nile in southern Khartoum residents also reported clashes late on Sunday. Saudi Arabia and the United States said on Sunday that both the army and the RSF had repeatedly violated the truce and had impeded the delivery of humanitarian access and restoration of essential services. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz Writing by Aidan Lewis, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
[1/7] A view from inside an orphanage in Khartoum, Sudan, in this handout image released April 20, 2023. There was no one there,” said Abdullah, speaking by phone from the orphanage, the cries of wailing babies audible in the background. Frini and the director of the orphanage, Zeinab Jouda, referred questions about the total death toll to Abdullah, Mygoma’s medical chief. ABANDONED CHILDRENOfficially called The Orphan's Care Centre, Mygoma, the orphanage is housed in a three-storey building in central Khartoum. She said that a day earlier, two babies who died were instead buried in a city square close to the orphanage.
A week-long ceasefire brokered in Saudi and U.S.-led talks in Jeddah is due to run until Monday evening. "While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people," Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said in a joint statement. There was no statement on the possible renewal of the ceasefire from the army. In recent days there has also been fighting in El Fashir, capital of North Darfur State. One El Fashir hospital had recorded three deaths and 26 injuries on Saturday, including children, according to the Darfur Bar Association, an activist group.
Even before the fighting intensified, years of political instability meant Sudan had several million people internally displaced. The country also hosted 1.13 million refugees from other conflict-ridden countries, including South Sudan, Eritrea and Syria, according to UNHCR data. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are flocking home from neighboring Sudan, which erupted in violence last month. Sam Mednick/APAmid the vast displacement, there have been increasing reports of gender-based violence and domestic violence, especially among internally displaced Sudanese populations, the UN Population Fund said. This includes 22 attacks on health facilities, six attacks which impacted warehouses, and nine attacks which affected supplies, among others.
In a statement on Saturday, the RSF accused the army of violating the ceasefire and destroying the country's mint in an air strike. Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. On Saturday, Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum," said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city. The RSF has denied reports that its soldiers are engaged in sexual assaults or looting.
Sudan’s Warring Groups Agree to 7-Day Cease-Fire
  + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Sudan’s warring parties have agreed to a seven-day cease-fire beginning on Monday, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced late Saturday, the first truce to be signed by both parties in a conflict that has raged for over a month, leaving millions of people across the northeast African nation in a dire humanitarian crisis. On Saturday, the sides promised to stop their forces from occupying new areas; to refrain from detaining or threatening civilians; and not to impede aid groups and workers from providing lifesaving assistance. The warring groups also agreed not to loot civilian properties or humanitarian supplies, nor to seize critical infrastructure such as electricity, fuel and water installations. Before the announcement, the two sides had signed a pact only to protect civilians but not to suspend fighting altogether, leaving their soldiers clashing across Sudan. Previous cease-fire announcements, including one brokered by the United States and another by South Sudan, have faltered, leading to a mounting death toll and a vast displacement of people.
Sudan ceasefire deal raises hopes for relief in Khartoum
  + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: +2 min
Smoke rises above buildings in Khartoum on April 15, 2023, amid reported clashes in the city. Sporadic fighting between Sudan's warring factions could be heard in the capital Khartoum on Sunday, residents said, after a Saudi and U.S.-brokered deal for a week-long ceasefire raised hopes of some let-up in the five-week conflict. The ceasefire deal, signed by the army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, is due to come into effect on Monday evening with an internationally supported monitoring mechanism. Safaa Ibrahim, a 35-year-old Khartoum resident, told Reuters by phone that she hoped the deal could bring an end to the conflict. We've been chased away from our homes, and the family has scattered between towns in Sudan and Egypt," she said.
[1/2] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. Air strikes were reported by eyewitnesses in southern Omdurman and northern Bahri, the two cities that lie across the Nile from Khartoum, forming Sudan's "triple capital." Some of the strikes took place near the state broadcaster in Omdurman, the eyewitnesses said. The RSF is embedded in residential districts, drawing almost continual air strikes by the regular armed forces. In recent days ground fighting has flared once again in the Darfur region, in the cities of Nyala and Zalenjei.
NAIROBI, Kenya — The fighting that erupted in Sudan’s capital one month ago surprised few, the culmination of soaring tensions between rival military leaders. But what has shocked many is the scale and ferocity of the war engulfing Africa’s third-largest country, a conflict that has killed about 1,000 people and prompted one million more to flee their homes. In interviews, they agreed on one thing: The immediate outlook is bleak. “We thought through several scenarios,” said one senior European diplomat who, like others working to broker a peaceful solution, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “None of them ends well.”The immediate challenge is that the warring factions — Sudan’s military, led by Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan — still believe that a military victory is possible, regardless of the cost.
KHARTOUM, Sudan - May 6, 2023: Sudanese Army sodliers walk near armoured vehicles stationed on a street in southern Khartoum, amid ongoing fighting against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AFP via Getty ImagesOne month after fighting between Sudan's two military factions broke out in the capital, Khartoum, internationally-brokered peace talks in Saudi Arabia have yielded no solution. Almost a million people have fled their homes, both to locations within Sudan and across the border to neighboring countries. The World Bank and several global powers froze aid to the country after the military takeover, honoring calls from civilians not to legitimize its leadership. Targeted and collaborative efforts by the international community to exert pressure on the countries supporting Sudan's military factions were needed, Abdel-Magied said.
US forces evacuated the American embassy in Sudan days after violence erupted in its capital. As the situation deteriorated, the Pentagon dispatched Special Operations Forces to evacuate US diplomatic staff in a dramatic helicopter operation. Foreign governments began efforts to pull out their diplomatic staff and, in some cases, also moved to evacuate their civilians. People walk by a house hit in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. US Marine Corps courtesy photoWith the embassy staff gone, questions remained over whether Washington would move to evacuate US citizens, as some other Western nations had been doing.
Militias, made up mostly of Arab fighters, have exploited the power vacuum to rampage through cities, loot households and kill an unknown number of civilians, according to aid workers, doctors and local activists. In response, some civilians have begun arming themselves, and non-Arab groups have also retaliated against militias at a small scale. But while Khartoum had been a peaceful city before April, Darfur has been torn by decades of violence. More than 300,000 people were killed in Darfur in the 2000s when Sudan’s former dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, ordered militias, widely known as the Janjaweed, to crush a rebellion among non-Arab groups. Its eastern region, semiarid and isolated, already has more than 400,000 refugees from Darfur living in 13 camps, which are now filling with new arrivals helped by the U.N. refugee agency.
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