Sudan's capital Khartoum woke up to sustained firing on Saturday amid tensions between the military and the country's powerful paramilitary forces. The bone of contention is over how the Rapid Security Forces (RSF), headed by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, should be integrated into the military and what authority should oversee the process.
According to a report by Reuters, a Saudi Arabian airlines plane at Sudan's Khartoum airport came under fire during clashes. The airline said it had moved its passengers, crew and staff from the airport to the Saudi embassy in the capital Khartoum, and had suspended flights to and from Sudan until further notice.
Tensions between the military and the RSF have escalated in recent months, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally-backed deal with political parties to revive the country's democratic transition.
Here is what we know so far of the clashes.
How did tensions begin?
After a popular uprising and ouster of President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, Sudan began its transition to democracy.
According to a report by Reuters, the military agreed to share power with officials appointed by civilian political groups ahead of the elections in 2019. However, that arrangement was abruptly halted by a military coup in October 2021, ensuing a campaign of frequent pro-democracy mass rallies across Sudan, the report said.
The coup ended a two-year period of sharing power between the civilian leaders and military.
Rift between RSF and army
The RSF is under the leadership of the council's vice-president Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The army is led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the Sovereign Council. Both the generals have been running the country, through what is called the Sovereign Council, since the coup in October 2021, according to BBC.
The plan to transition towards a government led by civilians has been hindered by the challenge of incorporating the RSF into the country's national army within the given timeline. The RSF wanted to delay it for 10 years, but the army said it should happen in two years, the BBC reported.
The Human Rights Watch in 2021 flagged the RSF, stating that they had acted without lawful authority, arbitrarily detained dozens of civilians, including political activists, in the capital Khartoum in 2020. It had also appealed to the authorities to take urgent steps to ensure that the RSF stops acting outside the law.
The rift between Army and RSF came to the fore again on April 13 after the army said movements by RSF had happened without coordination and were illegal, Al Jazeera reported.
International community urges for ceasefire
US Ambassador John Godfrey urged the senior military leaders to stop fighting. He said that he is currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing.
"Escalation of tensions within the military component to direct fighting is extremely dangerous. I urgently call on senior military leaders to stop the fighting," he said in a tweet.
According to a report by Reuters, the Russian Embassy too is concerned by the "escalation of violence" and has urged a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Sudan issued an advisory urging Indians citizens to take shelter.
(With inputs from AP)
