Intensifying Conflict in Khartoum: Explosions and Violent Clashes between Government Forces and Warlords

Even before the temporary ceasefire in Sudan, scheduled for until the 30th, the battle between the Sudanese government forces and the warlord Rapid Support Force (RSF) is intensifying again. The United Nations said that the two sides are open to negotiations on ending the war, and the former prime minister of Sudan urged the international community to make efforts to establish peace, saying that if the situation in Sudan continues, it will become a bigger nightmare than the conflict in Syria or Libya. News Agency reported that the fighting is intensifying again on the evening of the 29th (local time), with violent explosions heard in the city center near the presidential palace and military headquarters in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The news agency said air strikes and artillery attacks were destroying parts of Khartoum. The government forces and the Rapid Support Forces agreed to a temporary ceasefire until the 30th, but started fighting again even before the end of the ceasefire expired. Khalid, a resident staying in downtown Khartoum, complained to the news agency that he could not sleep at night, saying, “I am trembling in fear that a bomb will fall on my house while sleeping.” The government forces said that they destroyed 25 vehicles in an offensive operation against the rapid support force in North Khartoum and Omdurman, located north of Khartoum across the Blue and White Nile rivers. This area is home to a major oil refinery. Witnesses said government forces carried out drone strikes targeting the rapid reinforcements in the area. The Rapid Support Forces claimed to have shot down a government plane in Omdurman against a government attack. The Rapid Support Forces criticized government forces for violating the temporary ceasefire agreement by attacking Omdurman. The government forces did not immediately comment on this, but the news agency said that it was the rapid support force that broke the ceasefire agreement first. As the fighting intensifies again, the escape movement of Sudanese residents and foreigners is accelerating. More than 50,000 Sudanese have fled to Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic since the fighting began on the 15th, according to the Associated Press. The US government moved hundreds of its civilians from Khartoum to Port Sudan, a port city on the Red Sea coast, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that day that it would begin work to help its citizens and foreigners from 16 countries leave the country. The British government temporarily suspended transport operations on the 29th after it was not allowed to land aircraft to transport its citizens. Al Jazeera reported that some Sudanese who had applied for visas at Western embassies to visit foreign countries were blocked from returning their passports when the embassies withdrew. Ahmad Mahmoud, who applied for a visa at the Swedish embassy in late March, said the Swedish embassy ceased operations within days of the outbreak of the civil war and did not return his passport. He said that he had asked the Swedish diplomat via an Internet messenger to return his passport or to deliver at least a copy of his visa-approved passport. The broadcast reported that many of those who applied for visas faced similar difficulties as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain also suspended embassy operations. Some embassies are telling you to apply for a new passport, but this is also difficult as the civil war intensifies. The Sudanese Doctors Association, which is counting war victims, announced that the death toll from the 15th to this day was 411 and the number of injured was 2023, the AP reported. Earlier, the Sudan Ministry of Health said 528 people were killed and 4,500 were injured, respectively. Meanwhile, the UN said government forces and rapid support forces were open to negotiations to end the war. Volker Pertes, head of the United Nations’ Sudan Democracy Transition Assistance Group, said, “The two sides have already selected negotiators for negotiations. The venues for negotiations are Jeddah in Saudi Arabia or Juba, the capital of South Sudan.” However, it was not disclosed when the negotiations would be possible. Sudan’s former prime minister, Abdallah Hamdoq, warned that the situation in Sudan could develop into a much more serious situation than a civil war in Syria or Libya, the BBC reported. At a meeting held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, he called for concerted efforts from the international community for peace negotiations, saying that Sudan would become “the world’s nightmare” if the fighting is prolonged. Senior Reporter Shin Ki-seop [email protected]