Clashes continue in conflict-torn Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA): Military clashes have renewed between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in the capital Khartoum, according to witnesses.

Sounds of artillery shelling and fighting with heavy and light weapons were heard in the cities of Omdurman and Bahri, west and north of Khartoum, witnesses said.

Jet fighters were also seen flying over the southern side of the Sudanese capital. Billows of smoke were seen rising from several areas in the city.

No official information has been released about any casualties.

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, in a conflict that has so far killed nearly 3,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that nearly three million people have been displaced by the conflict.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the rivals have failed to end violence in the country.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since fall 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.