At least 56 people have been killed and nearly 600 injured in the violence in Sudan. It reports that Sudanese Doctors’ Committee Sunday. Heavy fighting broke out earlier this weekend between regular forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia officially part of the military.
The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, occupied several military bases, the presidential palace and the airport of the capital Khartoum, according to eyewitnesses on Saturday. Shots were fired in all parts of the capital, residents had to lie on the ground to avoid the bullets. Images show that large clouds of smoke hang over the city and the palace.
It is unclear who opened fire first. Both sides accuse each other of starting the fight. According to the BBC Three United Nations personnel have also been killed in gunfights at a military base in western Sudan, but the UN has not yet confirmed this.
The violence follows a conflict over the integration of militia members into the army. That topic was discussed as part of talks between civilian groups and the military leaders, who have ruled Sudan since a military coup in 2021, about a transfer of power to a democratic civilian government. Army chief Abdul Fattah Burhan wants the integration to take place in two years, Hemedti prefers a term of ten years.
Fifty Dutchmen
The Dutch ambassador to Sudan, Irma van Dueren, said on Saturday evening in the radio program Met het Oog op Morgen that the embassy is in contact with fifty Dutch nationals currently residing in Sudan. “We have asked everyone to stay at home. So far everyone is safe, although they are afraid.” The ambassador calls on all Dutch people in the country to report to the embassy, so that everyone can be helped as well as possible.
There is also a great deal of international attention for the conflict. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, called on Burhan and Hemedti on Saturday evening to end the violence and to enter into dialogue. The United States is in contact with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and wants to mediate with them in the conflict.
Also read this analysis: In Sudan, the fear of a new armed conflict is back