Sudanese paramilitaries say they seized presidential palace in apparent coup attempt By Reuters

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s main paramilitary group said it had seized the presidential palace, army chief’s residence and Khartoum international airport on Saturday in an apparent coup attempt, but the army said it was fighting back.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which accused the army of attacking them first, also said they had seized airports in the northern city of Merowe and El-Obeid in the west.

The situation on the ground was unclear. The army said it was fighting the RSF at sites the paramilitaries said they had seized and denied that the RSF had seized Merowe airport.

A major confrontation between the RSF and the army could plunge Sudan into widespread civil conflict as it battles economic collapse and tribal violence.

RSF accused the army of carrying out a plot by those loyal to ousted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and of attempting a coup.

The Sudanese air force is conducting operations against the RSF, the army said. Broadcaster images showed a military aircraft in the sky over Khartoum, but Reuters could not independently confirm the footage.

Gunshots were heard in various parts of Khartoum and eyewitnesses reported gunshots in neighboring cities.

A Reuters journalist saw guns and armored vehicles deployed in the streets of the capital and heard heavy gunfire near both the army and RSF headquarters.

Medics said clashes had broken out in residential neighborhoods and at least three civilians had been killed.

Clashes were also taking place at the headquarters of Sudan’s state television, an on-screen presenter said briefly.

There was a heavy exchange of fire in Merowe, eyewitnesses told Reuters.

Eyewitnesses told Reuters that clashes had broken out between the RSF and the army in the towns of El Fasher and Nyala in Darfur.

International powers – the United States, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations and the European Union – called for an end to hostilities.

The US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, said the escalation of tensions to direct fighting was “extremely dangerous.” He and the embassy staff sheltered in place.

The army said the RSF had tried to attack its troops in various positions after witnesses reported heavy gunfire in various parts of the country, raising fears of a full-blown conflict.

The RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, said its forces were attacked first by the army.

Earlier, the RSF, led by former militia leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, said the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons.

Hemedti’s RSF was formed from militias accused of war crimes in the Darfur conflict. In June 2019, RSF-led security forces were accused of raiding a Khartoum pro-democracy camp and nearly 130 people were killed, according to a tally by activist doctors.

Hemedti has been deputy leader of the ruling Sovereign Council headed by Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan since 2019.

Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing agreement with the army and the RSF asked them to cease hostilities. The Russian embassy also called for an end to the violence.

The hostilities followed days of tension between the army and the RSF, which could undermine longstanding efforts to return Sudan to civilian rule after power struggles and military coups.

Once one of Darfur’s most feared and ruthless militia leaders, Hemedti spearheaded a planned transition to democracy, unnerving the military rulers and prompting a troop mobilization in the capital Khartoum.

The rift between the forces surfaced on Thursday when the army said recent moves, particularly in Merowe, by the RSF were illegal.

The RSF, which along with the army ousted Bashir in 2019, began redeploying units in Khartoum and elsewhere amid talks last month over their integration into the army under a transition plan that would lead to new elections.