Sudanese army intensifies airstrikes, artillery bombardments on paramilitary positions in Khartoum

Khartoum, Sep 3

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have intensified airstrikes and artillery bombardments on positions of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

A source in Khartoum told Xinhua on Saturday that the SAF warplanes conducted airstrikes on RSF locations within Omdurman, northwest of Khartoum. These strikes targetted neighbourhoods such as Ombada and Dar Al Salam to the west of Omdurman, as well as the Al Salha neighborhood to the south.

The army air force also launched strikes on RSF positions in Al-Kadaro neighbourhood of Bahri city, north of Khartoum, the source added.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Kandasha, the spokesperson for the South Khartoum Emergency Room, reported on his Facebook page on Saturday that the army's air force had carried out intense bombardments on Al-Inghaz, Al-Azhari, and Al-Salama neighbourhoods in southern Khartoum.

"South Khartoum neighbourhoods have faced relentless air and artillery bombardment since early morning," Kandasha said, adding that two people were killed, and ten others sustained injuries, some of which are severe, due to an attack on a residential and commercial site near Al-Razi Hospital in Al-Azhari neighbourhood.

As the capital of Sudan, Khartoum is in fact a tripartite metropolis divided by the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers into the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, Xinhua news agency reported.

In response, the RSF issued a statement on Saturday, decrying the "indiscriminate aerial bombardment by warplanes" that resulted in numerous civilian casualties, including women and children, in the three cities.

The RSF also reported that heavy artillery shelling continued in populated areas, including Al-Salha, Al-Fetaihab, and Ombada in Omdurman, as well as the eastern Nile area.

The paramilitary condemned the "Sudanese army's behaviour toward innocent civilians" and called upon regional and international organisations to assume responsibility for these actions, categorising them as "war crimes".

The SAF has not yet commented on Saturday's armed clashes with the RSF.

The clashes in Khartoum coincided with a tour by the SAF's General Commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, in the Red Sea and Kassala states in eastern Sudan.

Addressing soldiers at military bases in the two states on Saturday, Al-Burhan reaffirmed that the fighting would continue until the rebellion, namely the RSF, is defeated.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly armed clashes between the SAF and RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, which left over 3,000 people killed and more than 6,000 injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

More than 4.5 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan due to the conflict, according to the latest update by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.