Fighting in Sudan has left nearly 100 civilians dead

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Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in Sudan and hundreds more injured as clashes between the army and a rival paramilitary group continue for a third day.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, a non-governmental pro-democracy group, put the total civilian death toll at nearly 100 on Monday morning, with many combatants killed in the first clashes on Saturday. Most of the civilian deaths occurred in the capital, Khartoum. The doctors’ group said the total number of injured, including military personnel, exceeded 900, with many of them in “critical” condition.

The United Nations, the United States, the European Union, Russia and China have urged both sides to stop the fighting, which was triggered by a power struggle between the military led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, president since October 2021, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Better known as Hemedti, Sudan’s vice president and commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The clashes include army air strikes on the positions of the Rapid Support Forces.

On Monday, Sudan’s military president ordered the disbandment of the “rebel” Rapid Support Forces. The Sudanese army claimed that a senior colonel and various forces from the paramilitary group had defected to their side. Hemedti accused Al-Burhan of “bombing civilians from the air” with MiG planes, adding: “We did not attack anyone. Our actions are just a response to the siege and assault on our forces.”

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The Sudanese army spokesman, General Nabil Abdullah, said that the army launched air strikes against the Rapid Support Forces. “We are working to end these clashes in a short period of time because we are keen not to endanger citizens,” he told Al-Jazeera Arabia.

The UN Secretary-General’s office urged them to “immediately cease hostilities, restore calm and begin dialogue,” adding that “any further escalation in fighting would have a devastating impact on civilians.”

“We urge all actors to immediately cease violence, avoid further escalation or mobilize forces, and continue talks to resolve outstanding issues,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The African Union called for an “immediate ceasefire,” warning Sunday that the fighting “could escalate into an all-out conflict.”

On Sunday, the head of the World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, said she was “saddened by the tragic death of three” of the organization’s staff in North Darfur, adding that one of their planes was “significantly damaged” in Khartoum “during an exchange of fire”, prompting the agency to stop its operations in Sudan.

The warring parties accuse each other of starting the fighting.

There was a disagreement between the general and Hemiti over the leadership and integration of the paramilitary forces — once deployed to Yemen to support the Gulf-led offensive against the Houthi rebels — into the army, people familiar with Burhan’s thinking said.

Both sides claimed to control the presidential palace and the international airport in Khartoum, as well as some of each other’s bases. With fighter jets flying over the Sudanese capital, the Sudanese Air Force has warned the citizens of the capital to stay indoors.

According to Riyadh, Blinken and his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – countries seen as close to Hemedti – spoke and stressed “the need to end the military escalation.”

Members of the international community want the Sudanese leadership to return to the long-awaited “Framework Agreement” to transition to a civilian government. Civilian and military leaders have held talks about the transition to democracy after the 2021 coup that brought Burhan to power. The first talks began in 2019, after dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted after 30 years in power.

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Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted by Burhan and Hemeti, called for a halt to the fighting. “The bullet, when it escapes from the weapon, will not differentiate between the aggressor and the non-aggressor, and the victims are the Sudanese,” Hamdok said in a video clip posted on social media.

But the Sudanese Armed Forces rejected any possibility of talking to the RSF, which has its origins in the Janjaweed militia accused of committing atrocities in the western region of Darfur.

On Sunday, the army said, “There will be no negotiations or dialogue before dissolving Hemedti’s rebel militia,” describing Hemedti as a “criminal.” Hemeti told Al Jazeera Arabia that he “could not give a deadline” for when the fighting would end, and also said that “Al-Burhan is a criminal.”

Additional reporting by Samer Al-Atrash in Dubai

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