KHARTOUM, Sudan
Clashes persisted on Monday
between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) despite their
commitment to a 72-hour humanitarian truce that started on Sunday night.Courtesy - SudanTribune
The military confrontation,
which has been ongoing for 16 days, has spread to various areas of the Sudanese
capital where heavy weapons, warplanes, and anti-aircraft guns have been used,
resulting in significant casualties and damage to military and civilian
structures.
Khartoum, Omdurman, and
Khartoum North (Bahri) have witnessed an intense flight of warplanes since the
early hours of the morning, targeting RSF sites, which responded with
anti-aircraft guns. This has caused extreme panic for residents living in the
crosshairs of the clashes.
The Sudanese army air force
carried out raids on the locations of the paramilitary forces in the three
towns.
Witnesses who spoke with the
“Sudan Tribune” reported that warplanes had bombed an RSF site in the Kafouri
area in northern Khartoum, as well as a convoy in Al-Inqaz Street in Bahri,
along with RSF positions near the presidential palace, south of Khartoum, and
near the radio and television buildings in Omdurman.
Sharq al-Nil Hospital in
eastern Khartoum was also bombed.
On Sunday, the army stated
that the Rapid Support Forces had taken over East Nile Hospital and transformed
it into a military base and an operational centre after evacuating patients.
The army spokesman released a
statement on Monday indicating that the army had decreased the RSF’s combat
capabilities by 45-55% during the 15 days of fighting.
The statement also said that
the militia forces before the clashes have mobilized 27,135 fighters, 39,490
recruits, 1,950 combat vehicles, 104 armoured personnel carriers, and 171
double-cab box vehicles armed with machine guns.
For their part, the Rapid
Support Forces accused the army of bombing their medical department’s
headquarters in Shambat, north of Khartoum, killing wounded people who were
receiving treatment at the site.
The group also accused “coup
plotters” of utilizing the military hospital in Omdurman as a platform for
artillery shelling towards the RSF’ medical department headquarters in Shambat.
In an interview with Asharq TV
on Monday, the RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo disclosed that some 480 Sudanese
army officers who were on secondment to the RSF have rejoined the army. Some of
them took the new recruits and forces under their command with them.
The United Nations cautioned
on Monday that ongoing clashes between opposing military factions in the
capital of Sudan may result in the displacement of up to 800,000 people from
the country. - Africa
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