Dozens dead, hundreds wounded as Sudan's army and rival paramilitary force battle

Sudan's military and a powerful paramilitary force battled fiercely in the capital and other areas, dealing a new blow to hopes for a transition to democracy and raising fears of a wider conflict. 

Heavy fighting involving armoured vehicles, truck-mounted machine-guns and war planes raged Sunday in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, the adjoining city of Omdurman and in flashpoints across the country. The rival forces are believed to have tens of thousands of fighters each in the capital alone.

At least five civilians were killed and 78 wounded on Sunday, bringing the two-day toll to 61 dead and more than 670 wounded, said the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate. The group said it believes there were dozens of additional deaths among the rival forces.

The clashes are part of a power struggle between Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group. The two generals are former allies who jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup that derailed Sudan's short-lived transition to democracy.

In recent months, internationally backed negotiations revived hopes for an orderly transition to democracy. However, growing tensions between al-Burhan and Dagalo eventually delayed a deal with political parties.

Volker Perthes, the United Nations envoy for Sudan, announced that both al-Burhan and Dagalo agreed to a three-hour humanitarian pause in fighting on Sunday. An hour after the pause was meant to have started in the late afternoon, regular exchanges of guns and heavy weapons firing could still be heard in parts of central Khartoum, even intensifying in some areas.

The clashes come as most Sudanese are preparing to celebrate the major holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally fast from sunrise to sunset.

Residents of Khartoum said fighting raged around the Sudanese military's headquarters shortly before sunset. "Heavy explosions and gunfire around the clock," said Amany Sayed, 38. "The battles here never stopped."

In Khartoum and Omdurman, fighting was reported around the military headquarters, Khartoum International Airport and state television headquarters. A senior military official said RSF fighters clashed with troops at military headquarters early Sunday and that a fire broke out at a facility for ground troops.

The military and the RSF both claimed to be in control of strategic locations in Khartoum and elsewhere in the county. Their claims couldn't be independently verified.

Top diplomats, including the U.S. secretary of state, the UN secretary general, the European Union's foreign policy chief, the head of the Arab League and the head of the African Union Commission urged the sides to stop fighting.

Members of the UN Security Council, at odds over other crises around the world, called for an immediate end to the hostilities and a return to dialogue. The African Union's top council convened Sunday at its headquarters in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss the conflict in Sudan.

The group's Peace and Security Council called for "an immediate ceasefire by the two parties without conditions." It also asked Moussa Faki Mahamat, who chairs the African Union Commission, to "immediately travel to Sudan to engage the parties towards a ceasefire." Arab states with stakes in Sudan — Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — made similar appeals.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia's foreign affairs minister, spoke by phone with Sudan's rival generals and urged them to stop "all kinds of military escalation," Saudi state TV reported.