Armed Clashes in Sudan
On 15 April 2023, armed clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the regular army in the Sudanese capital Khartoum were reported. Later, the fighting between the military forces spread to other Sudanese regions.

Sudan's RSF Say They Took Control of Airports in Khartoum, Merowe & Republican Palace

© AP Photo / Hussein MallaSudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces (File)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces (File) - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 15.04.2023
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Earlier in the day, a Sputnik correspondent reported that gunfire could be heard outside the RSF military camp in Khartoum. RSF later said that army units had attacked its base in Khartoum using "all kinds of heavy and light weapons".
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken control of Khartoum International Airport, the Merowe air base, and the country's Republican Palace, the presidential residence, the paramilitary command said on Saturday.

"The Rapid Support Forces, defending themselves, inflicted heavy losses on the attacking forces and managed to take control of the airport and the base in Merowe. The aggressors were also driven out of the headquarters of the Soba camp [in Khartoum], and the Khartoum airport was taken under control," the RSF said.

Later, the RSF announced that they have also captured the Republican Palace, along with other key facilities across various regions of Sudan, including the main airport of the city of El Obeid in the central region of the country. The Palace of the Republic, which is the working residence of the leaders of Sudan, is considered the main symbol of power in the country.
In turn, the Sudanese armed forces said that the Rapid Support forces did not manage to take over the airport of Merowe, arguing that "it is a rumor and a kind of psychological warfare".
Sudan's General Intelligence Service (GIS) on Saturday described the actions of the country's RSF, a paramilitary unit of the Sudanese Army led by deputy head of Sudan's Sovereign Council General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemetti, as mutinous.
"Sudan's General Security Service considers the country's RSF to be mutinous," the GIS said in a statement, quoted by Al-Arabiya broadcaster.
The federal military pointed that it's currently "countering the attempts of the Rapid Support Forces to seize strategical objects, including the Republican Palace, the General Command and the headquarters of the Sovereignty Council."
"The Air Force is now conducting qualitative operations to counter the irresponsible actions of the rebel Rapid Support militia," the Sudanese army said.
Earlier, videos of the jets flying low over the ground appeared on social media.
According to local media, the military jets have stroked the headquarters of the Rapid Support forces. The army later shared footage of smoke rising from the RSF building following the air forces' "qualitative operations".
Following media reports, the RSF paramilitary forces said in a statement on Saturday that the country's regular army attacked their base in Khartoum.
"The Rapid Support Forces were surprised today by a large group of armed forces entering the RSF headquarters at the Soba military camp in Khartoum. They (the army) besieged the forces there and then attacked them with all kinds of heavy and light weapons," the RSF said.
On Thursday, the Sudanese army issued a rare statement saying that the RSF's deployment in Khartoum and several cities was illegal and had taken place without coordination with the armed forces. The reason for the army's statement, according to media reports, was the sudden deployment of RSF units near the airport of the city of Merowe in the northern part of the country.
Al-Arabiya reported, citing sources, that the Sudanese army had also deployed units in Merowe "in case of a lack of security." The broadcaster said the Sudanese army had given the RSF a certain amount of time to vacate the city. For its part, the paramilitary command said its presence in Merowe was part of its tasks and duties.
The Forces of Freedom and Change, the Sudanese opposition coalition, said on April 6 that the signing of a final political agreement that would establish a transitional civilian authority in Sudan had been postponed again due to a lack of consensus among the military parties.
Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese military, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, his deputy and commander of the RSF, could not agree on the process of integrating the RSF into the regular army.
In October 2021, the Sudanese army under Burhan overthrew the government in a military coup, declaring a state of emergency and establishing a transitional sovereign council under his leadership. Subsequent protests forced Burhan to sign a pact that called for the reinstatement of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, the release of all political prisoners, the holding of elections in July 2023, and the transfer of power to an elected civilian government. The political crisis continued, however, and Hamdok stepped down on January 2, 2022.
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