Chaos unleashed in Sudan as paramilitary forces wreak havoc on capital

Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum, was rocked by explosions on Monday as the nation’s army rallied civilians to stand against escalating attacks from the country’s paramilitary forces.

The capital was shaken by artillery fire early in the morning, which echoed from the city’s northwest before spreading towards the city center and eastward. The fighting was reportedly ongoing since 4:00 am.

This violent unrest comes after a brief period of calm, following heavy skirmishes on Sunday between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This week, the army announced its readiness to recruit and train volunteer fighters, as Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan urged Sudanese youth and anyone capable of defense to join their ranks. However, this call was largely ignored by civilians weary from the constant conflict between Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Apart from the capital, some of the fiercest battles have taken place in the expansive western region of Darfur, where RSF forces attacked a military base in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, on Sunday. The violence has claimed nearly 3,000 lives since mid-April, though medical professionals warn the death toll could be significantly higher, with two-thirds of healthcare facilities in combat zones out of service.

Battle for Khartoum: Army and Rapid Support Forces clash in Sudan’s capital. Photo courtesy of Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay.

As a result of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, 2.2 million people have been displaced within the country, and a further 645,000 have sought refuge across international borders. These figures come from the International Organization for Migration.

Darfur, which houses a quarter of Sudan’s population and still bears the scars of a twenty-year war, has seen civilians being targeted based on their ethnicity by RSF and allied Arab militias, according to local residents, the United Nations, and the United States.

The RSF stands accused of intentionally attacking civilians in Darfur, with reports of personnel firing upon individuals fleeing towards the Chadian border.

The paramilitary group has been identified by survivors in both Darfur and Khartoum as the main culprits of conflict-related sexual assault. Sudan’s government Combating Violence Against Women and Children Unit revealed that most survivors in Khartoum and all of those in the Darfur cities of Nyala and El Geneina identified their attackers as RSF fighters. These highly mobile fighters, embedded within densely populated neighborhoods, have also been implicated in widespread break-ins and looting.