The Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) found themselves embroiled in renewed conflict on Sunday across Sudan’s capital cities of Khartoum, and Omdurman. This heightened hostility witnessed the use of both light and heavy artillery. According to the RSF, they managed to shoot down a “MiG” military aircraft north of Khartoum North.
Press Reporters documented Sudanese air forces bombing RSF assembly areas in Bahri, north of Khartoum, and targeting RSF gatherings in the Hilla Kuku area within the East Nile locality of Khartoum state. Intermittent heavy gunfire was audible in the southeastern parts of Khartoum.
The Al Jazeera correspondents noted that the Sudanese Army’s reconnaissance aircraft were conducting extensive sorties in areas south of Omdurman. They also reported direct confrontations between the Army and the RSF in the early hours around the popular market and the Wad Nubawi district in the city.
Eyewitness revealed the eruption of battles in southern Khartoum, involving the use of both heavy and light weaponry. Omdurman City bore witness to severe conflict, with echoes of cannon fire, increasing military air traffic, and visible smoke and flames. Army forces and RSF groups also faced off in the Alfaya and Kadro neighborhoods of Bahri, north of the capital.
On Saturday, the official Sudanese news agency “SUNA” reported that the Civil Aviation Authority had extended the closure of Sudanese airspace to all air traffic until July 10th. However, exceptions were granted for humanitarian aid flights and evacuation operations, subject to prior authorization.
Importantly, since mid-April, the opposing parties in Sudan have been trading accusations of initiating hostilities and violating several ceasefires that failed to bring an end to the conflict. These clashes have resulted in over 3,000 deaths—mainly civilians—and displaced more than two million people within and outside of one of the world’s poorest nations, according to figures from the Ministry of Health and the United Nations.
Significant disputes between the Army and the RSF center on the timeline for implementing a proposal to integrate the RSF into the Army—an essential aspect of an agreement to transition power back to civilians. Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in alliance with RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemidti” in 2021, enacted measures that included the dissolution of transitional Sovereignty and Cabinet Councils.
Those opposing these actions viewed them as a military coup against the transitional phase that followed the ousting of former President Omar al-Bashir (1989-2019). Contrarily, Al-Burhan stated these measures were aimed at rectifying the transitional phase, promising a return of power to civilians via elections or national consensus.
