The turmoil since the fall of Bashir
What’s happening now is the latest upheaval since the toppling of Sudan’s long-serving President Omar al-Bashir.
Bashir – who had been in power for nearly three decades – had been confronted by months of street protests when generals ousted him in April 2019.
The military promised a transition to civilian rule, but the demonstrators vowed to stay on the streets demanding a role in the government.
A joint military-civilian government was then agreed in August 2019, which was supposed to pave the way for elections.
But there were tensions between the sides and two years later the military staged another coup.
Since then, attempts to resurrect the plan to move towards civilian rule have hit problems.
A framework proposal agreed last December has been rejected by both pro-military and civilian groups and has not been finalised.
International efforts under way to stop the fighting
United Nations secretary general António Guterres has led international calls for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and a resumption of stalled talks on returning the country to civilian rule.
In a tweet, he said he condemned the outbreak of fighting and was engaging with the African Union and leaders in the region
He said he reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to support the people of Sudan “in their efforts to restore a democratic transition”.
China‘s foreign ministry has said it was highly concerned by the fighting and urged both sides to prevent the situation from escalating.
In its latest response, Washington said Secretary of State Antony Blinken was engaging with countries with influence to try to halt the fighting.
The Arab League is holding an urgent meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation, following a request by Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Army appears to target RSF in Khartoum – resident
He says the Sudanese forces appeared to be bombing targets within the city:
“We woke up to sounds of very heavy gunfire and bombings, in some cases even louder than yesterday.
“Just about 20 minutes ago, there were sounds of jet fighters flying over our neighbourhoods and possibly throwing bombs at different areas around us.
“Basically, the Sudanese armed forces are trying to target locations where the Rapid Support Forces’ militia are located.”
At this stage, there are differing accounts coming out of Sudan about which forces are in control and much that cannot be independently unverified.
In a statement on Sunday, the Sudanese army claimed “the hour of victory is near”.
“We pray for mercy for the innocent lives taken by this reckless adventure taken by the rebel Rapid Support militia… We will have good news for our patient and proud people soon, God willing,” the statement said.
Both the military and the RSF have claimed they control Khartoum’s international airport and other key installations where fighting raged overnight.
BBC
