Battles for control of Sudan stretch into a third day

Nearly 100 people were killed over the weekend in fighting between the army and paramilitary forces as the country's two top generals were vying for dominance.

VideoSmoke billowing from airport Khartoum, Sudan, as fighting between rival factions intensified.CreditCredit... Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

NAIROBI, Kenya — Forces of Rival generals vying for control of Sudan clashed for a third day Monday in the capital, Khartoum, as one of Africa's biggest nations descended deeper into violence.

The fighting pitted a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces against the Sudanese Army - a long-running rivalry between Sudan's two main generals who vied for dominance over the nation North African. It was still unclear who controlled the country even as both sides claimed crucial victories. The death toll from the first two days of fighting has risen to 97, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.

For decades, Sudan has suffered under the yoke of dictatorship , coups and political instability, with successive governments overseeing widespread repression and genocidal violence, particularly in the Darfur region. The country has struggled to shake off its troubled history even after longtime autocrat Omar Hassan al-Bashir was ousted in 2019.

During In recent years, the generals have steadily tightened their grip on the nation, killing and imprisoning civilians and repeatedly scuttling any attempt to transition to democratic rule. Tension between the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the head of the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, had been simmering for months and finally erupted into violent clashes between their forces on Saturday. Morning. .

The conflict has further clouded Sudan's hopes of progress towards democracy and threatens to deepen a humanitarian crisis in a country already facing a difficult economic situation, to growing hunger and widespread unemployment.< /p>

Residents of Khartoum said there was an escalation in the number of fighter jets and helicopters that were driving around town starting Monday around 3 a.m. local time. Two people in an area near the city's international airport said the planes circled every few minutes and came very close to their home.

" It's like they're above our heads,” said Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem, a resident who fled with 10 people, including family members.

In the suburb of Kafouri, north of Khartoum, a resident said the jets hit a camp belonging to the Rapid Support Forces. Two major explosions also rocked the neighborhood, smashing windows and shaking homes in the area. It was not immediately clear if these explosions resulted in any casualties.

There was intense street fighting and explosions in several neighborhoods, including in upmarket Riyadh and the suburb of Burri, residents said.

Many residents of Khartoum have been stuck in their homes without electricity or water as they marked the last days of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when many fast daily from dawn to dusk.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors