2023-04-16 16:27:57
The collateral victims of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces are increasing in Sudan. After a day of fighting, at least 56 civilians were killed and 600 injured. The United Nations (UN) also reported on Sunday the death of three of its aid workers who were working for the food aid program in Darfur.
They were killed “while doing their work in North Darfur” which closed its border due to violence, said Volker Perthes, a United Nations representative in Sudan, in a press release. He said that “humanitarian buildings have been hit and others looted in Darfur”. The UN subsequently announced the temporary suspension of its World Food Program (WFP) in this East African country, “time to analyze the evolution of the security situation”. “Any loss of life in the humanitarian exercise is unacceptable and I call for immediate action to ensure the safety of those still present,” Cindy McCain, director of WFP, said in a statement.
Elsewhere in the country, dozens of fighters were mowed down by bullets, rockets and other projectiles fired from tanks and planes, according to pro-democracy doctors.
On social networks, they are calling for help, the establishment of secure corridors to let ambulances pass and a ceasefire to treat the many victims. The majority of them were recorded in Khartoum, the country’s capital.
The army and paramilitaries finally announced the opening of “humanitarian corridors” for three hours on Sunday to evacuate the wounded. The two camps, however, retain a “right to retaliate in the event of violation” of the agreement.
A struggle for power
Fighting between the army and paramilitary forces, which respond to two generals in the midst of a struggle for power in Sudan, began on Saturday.
For weeks, the tone had been rising between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, who is the head of the army, and General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, also called “Hemedti”, who is at the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF ). The two men have been in charge of the country since the October 2021 coup, which ended the democratic transition that began in 2019.
The ever-increasing tensions between the two generals made any political settlement difficult, if not impossible, in this country torn apart by 30 years of dictatorship.
Hemedti and his men, thousands of ex-militiamen from the Darfur war who had become official auxiliaries to the regular troops, finally went on the attack. For 24 hours, they have been trying to take control of the main centers of power in the country, in Khartoum.
For the moment, however, it is difficult to know who of the army and the FSR is really in charge.
The FSRs announced that they had taken control of the airport in a few hours on Saturday, but the army denied it. The paramilitaries also claimed to have seized the presidential palace, which the army also denied. Hemedti’s troops, for their part, claim to be in control of the headquarters of his staff.
In addition, the two camps claim to control state television. Around the media facilities, residents report continued fighting. On the air, only patriotic songs are broadcast, as was the case during the 2021 putsch.
The open war between the generals is also media. On Saturday, Hemedti granted several interviews to Gulf television channels, of which several states are his allies, and multiplied the attacks against his rival. He relentlessly demanded the departure of “Burhane the criminal”.
For its part, the army published on Facebook a “wanted notice” against Hemedti, “criminal on the run”.
Meanwhile, the fighting continues unabated in the four corners of Sudan, which brings together 45 million inhabitants. Many are hiding to escape rifle fire and attacks from heavy artillery and fighter planes.
Throughout the Sudanese capital, armed men in uniform wander the deserted streets and columns of smoke rise from the city center, where the main institutions are located.
“The night was very hard. We didn’t sleep because of the sounds of explosions and gunshots,” Ahmed Seif, who lives with his wife and three children in eastern Khartoum, told AFP. He fears that his building has been hit, but says he is “afraid to go out to check”, for fear of stray bullets and armed men roaming the streets.
The bombardments continue Sunday in the capital, which is invaded by a strong smell of gunpowder. The soldiers had also warned on Facebook that “the air force would carry out operations to finish off the rebel militias of Rapid Support, and that civilians should stay at home”.
For its part, the international community multiplies in vain calls for a ceasefire. Beijing joined Washington and Moscow in calling for a return to calm, just as the UN, the Arab League and the African Union had already done. The pope, meanwhile, invited us to “pray for arms to be abandoned”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the two Saudi generals to demand “an immediate end to the violence”. He also urged Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, an influential player in Sudan, to act. Since Saturday, Egypt has been concerned about a video showing several of its soldiers in the hands of the RSF.
The Arab League and the African Union, where the great sponsors of Sudanese politics sit, met urgently on Sunday morning. The head of the African Union commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, will travel to Sudan during the day to try to engage “the parties in a ceasefire”.
Expressing its “deep concern”, the African Union called on the forces of the two Sudanese generals to “protect civilians”.
Source: AFP; video: Africanews
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