The Sudanese capital of Khartoum has become the epicenter of a violent struggle as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intensified their airstrikes and artillery bombardments on positions held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday. This deadly escalation has sent shockwaves through the city, leaving casualties and devastation in its wake.
Sources on the ground in Khartoum report that SAF warplanes unleashed a relentless assault on RSF locations within Omdurman, a city to the northwest of Khartoum. These precision strikes specifically targeted neighborhoods such as Ombada and Dar Al Salam to the west of Omdurman, as well as the Al Salha neighborhood to the south. Additionally, the army’s air force launched attacks on RSF positions in the Al-Kadaro neighborhood of Bahri city, located to the north of Khartoum.
Mohamed Kandasha, the spokesperson for the South Khartoum Emergency Room, took to Facebook to report the grim toll of these attacks. He described intense bombardments on the Al-Inghaz, Al-Azhari, and Al-Salama neighborhoods in southern Khartoum. Tragically, two people lost their lives, and ten others suffered injuries, some of which are severe, due to an attack on a residential and commercial site near Al-Razi Hospital in the Al-Azhari neighborhood.
Khartoum, as the capital of Sudan, is a tripartite metropolis divided by the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers into the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri.
In response to these devastating events, the RSF issued a statement condemning the “indiscriminate aerial bombardment by warplanes,” which has resulted in numerous civilian casualties, including women and children, in all three cities. The RSF also reported heavy artillery shelling continuing in populated areas, including Al-Salha, Al-Fetaihab, and Ombada in Omdurman, as well as the eastern Nile area. They categorically labeled these actions as “war crimes” and called upon regional and international organizations to assume responsibility for these atrocities.
As of now, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have not officially commented on Saturday’s armed clashes with the RSF.
These 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. During his visit, Al-Burhan reaffirmed that the fighting would persist until the rebellion, specifically the RSF, is defeated.
The deadly armed clashes between the SAF and RSF have plagued Sudan since April 15, resulting in a devastating toll. According to the Sudanese Health Ministry, over 3,000 people have lost their lives, with more than 6,000 suffering injuries. The conflict has also led to the displacement of over 4.5 million people, both inside and outside Sudan, according to the latest update by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The situation in Khartoum remains tense, with the world closely watching as Sudan grapples with the human cost of this relentless conflict.
