Large explosions and gunfire are heard in several places in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they were attacked by the army, and subsequently captured the airport and the presidential palace. The fighting between the country’s two military powers is said to have broken out on Saturday morning. RSF states that they were attacked, and then responded with an offensive that resulted in taking control of the presidential palace and the city’s airport. Flight data should also show how aircraft have turned around, after coming close to landing at the airport. According to the BBC, two people are said to have died after a shell hit a passenger plane at the site. Videos circulating on social media also show soldiers shooting in the streets, armored vehicles driving through residential areas and travelers taking cover inside the airport, reports The New York Times. Woke up to the sound of explosions John Godfrey, the US ambassador in Khartoum, writes in a post on Twitter that he woke up to the sound of explosions and gunfire on Saturday morning and that embassy staff are taking shelter inside the embassy building. At the same time, the British Embassy in Sudan urges all Britons who are in the country to stay indoors, writes Sky News. Increased concern about civil war Unrest in the African country has grown over the past week, this after the army directed criticism at the RSF’s military establishment in several places around the country. The RSF was formed out of the Janjawid militias, which the country’s then leader Omar al-Bashir sent out to spread terror in Darfur in western Sudan in the 2000s. Since then, the force has operated in parallel with the army. Among other things, they collaborated on the coup that in October 2021 overthrew the country’s democratically elected government. However, the latest split has increased concerns about a new civil war in the country.
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