WORLD NEWS | Sudanese paramilitary groups take control of the presidential palace

Khartoum [Sudan]April 15 (ANI): Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they have taken control of the presidential palace as tensions between rival factions of the Sudanese Armed Forces escalate to violence, CNN reported. .

Witnesses told CNN that intense fighting was reported around the presidential palace and army headquarters in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.

Read also | The Indian embassy in Sudan advised citizens to stay indoors amid the clashes between the army and paramilitary.

In a statement, the RSF also claimed to have taken control of the airports in Khartoum, Malwa and Abaid, after which flights from the international airports were cancelled.

According to CNN, Reporters Without Borders said it was responding to a surprise attack by the military on one of its bases.

Read also | Bhartai Singh, nephew of Indira Gandhi assassin Satwant Singh, has been arrested in New Zealand on drug charges.

Meanwhile, Kholood Khair, founding director of the Khartoum-based think tank Confluence Advisory, said the military and the RSF never got along because they had opposing views on power consolidation, Al Jazeera reported. However, he added that they had been cooperating because they both wanted to avoid accountability and agreed to security sector changes that would limit their powers.

“There are signs that they’re working together to escalate tensions and have made it very public that this escalation is designed to get pro-democracy forces to back down before easing those tensions,” Kyle said. “It’s a cycle of rinse and repeat. Over the past few years.”

“Armed conflict was always a possibility, precisely because all these plots were superseded by a power struggle between Burhan and Hemeti. They came together when they needed to resist reforms and democratic gains. When things didn’t go their way We’ve seen things heat up when their will develops. It’s these different impulses at play, which means there’s always the potential for conflict whether there’s a de-escalation or not,” he added.

“What makes this particular incident in Marawi interesting is that we’ve seen the armed forces come out and almost call the RSF’s actions an act of war. It’s an escalation that we’ve never seen before, according to Al Jazeera. Reports, he said, made people anxious.

Sudan’s military has pledged to hand over control to a civilian-led government this month after an 18-month coup. However, the process has been dominated by rivalry between General al-Burhan and General Hamdan (also known as Hemeti).

The two generals have publicly criticized each other in speeches over the past few months and have sent reinforcements and armored vehicles against barracks dotted across the city. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)