Deadly clashes between Sudan's army and rival force
At least three civilians died on Saturday during battles between Sudanese paramilitaries and the regular army, sparking global calls for calm in a country which has seen decades of unrest. As night fell on the deserted streets of the capital Khartoum, clashes had not let up. The paramilitaries said they were in control of the presidential palace as well as Khartoum airport, claims denied by the army. Medics reported the three civilian deaths, including at Khartoum airport and in North Kordofan state, but cautioned that the exact toll was still unclear. Fighter jets earlier flew overhead and military vehicles were seen on the streets. Saudi Arabia's flag carrier Saudia said one of its planes, with passengers and crew aboard waiting for departure, was "exposed to gunfire damage". Bakry, 24, who works in marketing, said Khartoum residents had "never seen anything like" this unrest, which left dark smoke hanging over the capital. "People were terrified and running back home. The streets emptied very quickly as everyone wanted to leave their homes and find shelter," said Bakry, who gave only a first name. Windows rattled and apartment buildings shook in many parts of Khartoum during the clashes. Violence erupted after weeks of deepening tensions between military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, over the planned integration of Daglo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army. The integration was a key element of talks to finalise a deal that would return the country to civilian rule and end the political-economic crisis sparked by the military's 2021 coup in one of the world's poorest countries. Created in 2013, the RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia that then-president Omar al-Bashir unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minorities in the western Darfur region a decade earlier, drawing accusations of war crimes. (AFP)