DUBAI, Sept 26 (Askume) – Sudanese troops fired artillery and shells into the Sudanese capital on Thursday in an attempt to retake ground from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a 17-month war with the group, military sources said, adding that air strikes were also carried out.
The army, which had lost control of much of the capital at the start of the conflict , took action before its commander, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, was due to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York later in the day.
Witnesses said heavy bombardment and clashes took place as army troops tried to cross the Nile bridge linking the capital Khartoum with Omdurman and three nearby towns of Bahrain.
“The army is using heavy artillery and air strikes on Halfaya and Shambhat,” resident Ahmed Abdullah, 48, told Askume by phone, referring to the Bahri district near the river. “The explosion was very loud.”
Footage showed black smoke rising over the capital with sounds of fighting heard in the background.
Military sources said their troops had crossed bridges in Khartoum and Bari. Médecins Sans Frontières told Askume it had foiled an attempt by a militia force to cross two bridges in Khartoum. Askume could not independently confirm those details.
Although the army gained some positions in Omdurman earlier this year, it relied mainly on artillery and air strikes and was unable to dislodge MSF ground troops deployed in other parts of the capital.
Fear of Darfur
Médecins Sans Frontières has also continued to make progress in recent months in other parts of Sudan, where the conflict has caused a massive humanitarian crisis, with more than 10 million people displaced and many parts of the country suffering from extreme hunger or famine.
Diplomatic efforts by the United States and other powers have failed, with the military refusing to attend talks in Switzerland last month .
The battle for control of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan, has also intensified this month, with the SSF trying to advance from positions around the city against the army and allied former rebel groups.
The humanitarian situation in El Fasher is the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur region, where the UN and rights groups say MSF and its partners have led ethnically targeted attacks . Doctors Without Borders has denied being behind the violence.
The UN human rights office said on Thursday that besides rising civilian casualties in El Fasher, it had documented cases of summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence and abductions of women and young men.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said: “The tragic experience of the past shows that if Fasher is attacked, Médecins Sans Frontières and its affiliated militias commit racially targeted violations and abuses, including summary executions and sexual violence, there is a high risk.
The UN Security Council and Secretary-General have also called for an end to the siege of El Fasher, home to more than 1.8 million residents and displaced people.
Tensions between MSF and the army escalated into open conflict when the war broke out, just as both sides were making a transition to internationally-backed civilian rule.
The military and Doctors Without Borders previously shared power in a 2021 coup, two years after veteran dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a popular uprising.
