15 April 2023 , 11:08
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Heavy firing has broken out in Sudan's capital, forcing the US ambassador to shelter as Sudan's powerful paramilitary group have seized control of the presidential palace and airport.
Clashes erupted early today between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), just weeks after mounting tensions between the groups.
United Nations officials and foreign diplomats have tried and failed in recent days to prevent the tensions from turning violent, but many now fear a civil war is on the horizon.
United States Ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey said he was sheltering with his team amid “deeply disturbing” sounds of gunfire.
Smokes rise after clashes erupted in the Sudanese capital (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)"I just arrived late last night in Khartoum and woke up to the deeply disturbing sounds of gunfire and fighting. I am currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing.
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“Escalation of tensions within the military component to direct fighting is extremely dangerous. I urgently call on senior military leaders to stop the fighting,” he tweeted.
Al Jazeera reports that smoke was billowing from various places in the city and civilians were seen running for cover as artillery exchanges rocked the streets.
"We are hearing fighter jets above us now in Khartoum North", Nisrin Elamin, a Sudanese PhD student tweeted.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said the situation in Khartoum was "fragile."
By lunchtime, the RSF militia claimed they had seized the capital city's airport and “completely controlled” Khartoum’s Republican Palace.
Videos posted on twitter show the RSF parading through the airport (_Will_Brown / Twitter)
Armed fighters force the airport to cease operating (amalhamdanelex / Twitter)The group also said it seized an airport and airbase in the northern city of Marawi, some 215 miles northwest of Khartoum.
In a series of statements, both sides appeared to blame one another for the ratcheting up of violence.
The Sudanese Army said the fighting broke out after RSF troops tried to attack its forces in the southern part of the capital. The RSF said it first came under attack at a camp in the south of Khartoum.
The RSF is under the command of the council's vice-president Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The army, meanwhile, is led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the Sovereign Council.
Dagalo said earlier today that "Burhan will be captured or he will die like a dog."
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Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said they are hearing gunfire in the capital and there is "confusion with regards to what is happening at the moment - people are terrified.”
The military seized power in a coup 18 months ago and had agreed to hand over power this month to a civilian-led government. The 2021 coup ended a period of more than two years when military and civilian leaders were sharing power.
However, the process has been overshadowed by the open rivalry between General al-Burhan and General Hamdan.
But army-RSF rivalry dates back to the rule of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019. Under the former president, the paramilitary force grew out of former militias that carried out a brutal crackdown.
A United Nations official said clashes were occurring “literally everywhere,” in Khartoum, including near the sprawling American Embassy in the southeastern corner of the capital.