Sudan unrest claims 180 lives
A deadly power struggle has derailed a shift to civilian rule in Sudan and has led to calls from the United Nations to stop fighting and raised fears of a wider conflict.
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After the paramilitary force battling Sudanese army was branded a rebel group by country's army chief on Monday, it has emerged that the European Union ambassador to Sudan was attacked in his home in capital Khartoum.
A deadly power struggle has derailed a shift to civilian rule in Sudan and has led to calls from the United Nations to stop fighting and raised fears of a wider conflict.
"A few hours ago, the EU Ambassador in Sudan was assaulted in his own residency," Borrell wrote on Twitter.
"Security of diplomatic premises and staff is a primary responsibility of Sudanese authorities and an obligation under international law," he added.
The European Union's ambassador to Sudan is veteran Irish diplomat Aidan O'Hara. EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali told AFP that he was "OK" following the assault.
"The security of the staff is our priority," she said. "The EU delegation has not been evacuated. Security measures are being assessed."
The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 97 civilians and 45 soldiers, according to a medics' group. A UN envoy has put the death toll at over 180. UN's special representative to the country, Volker Perthes, told journalists via video link that another 1,800 were injured in three days of fighting between rival factions in Sudan.
Both sides claimed on Monday that they had made gains as smoke hung over the capital Khartoum. People reported that airstrikes, artillery fire and shooting have cut off basic services and damaged hospitals in a city that is unused to violence.
Videos and photos from the international airport being aired on television showed a raging fire with plumes of black smoke. Satellite images showed several planes damaged by the strikes.
The Khartoum violence and in nearby cities of Omdurman and Bahri since Saturday is the worst in decades. There is risk of Sudan being torn between two military factions that once shared power during a rocky political transition.
Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan currently heads a ruling council installed after a 2021 coup and the 2019 ousting of veteran leader Omar Bashir during mass protests. RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is his deputy.
An internationally backed transition plan mandated that the RSF will merge with the army. But Burhan on Monday ordered the group to be dissolved as the two sides exchanged bitter accusations.
Burhan told Sky News that he was secure in a presidential guesthouse within the defence ministry compound and that his goal was to defeat the RSF. However, he did not rule out some form of negotiation.
"Every war ends at the negotiation table even if the opponent is defeated", Burhan said.
Meanwhile, RSF leader Hemedti, who currently is in an undisclosed location, called for the international community to take action against what he called Burhan's crimes. In a tweet, he called the army chief "a radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air".
If the violence continues to escalate, it could destabilise a volatile region and play into competition for influence there between Russia and the United States, among other regional powers.
Egypt has been wary of political change in Khartoum and is the biggest backer of Sudan's armed forces. Hemedti has cultivated ties with several foreign powers including the United Arab Emirates and Russia.
The situation didn't seem to be calming down on Monday as neither side was willing to back down. While the army is larger and has air power, the RSF is widely deployed inside neighbourhoods of Khartoum and other cities, making it hard for either side to secure a quick victory.
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