Anti-war Watchdog Warns Against Expansion of Armed Conflict in Sudan

Smoke rises from the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport as a fire burns, in Khartoum on Sudan April 17, 2023 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.

April 28, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – An anti-war watchdog in Sudan has warned against the expansion of the armed conflict in Khartoum between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that broke out nearly two weeks ago.

In a weekly bulletin issued on Thursday, the Sudan Conflict Observer (SCO) said that “the army prepare to launch a new offensive on the RSF troops which are spread in residential neighbourhoods and public buildings in Khartoum.”

“With RSF fighters sheltering in civilian buildings the fighting may be more intense and concentrated than during previous phases,” said the SCO which is composed of Ayin, Human Rights Hub and the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker.

“Sudanese belligerents accepted to meet in Juba on Friday to discuss a permanent ceasefire with a mechanism to monitor its implementation,” the report said.

However, on the same day, “the army commander-in-chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan excluded to negotiate with the RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo Hemetti.”

The anti-war watchdog further said that “the clashes in West Darfur between the Sudanese army and RSF militiamen draw civilians into the fighting along tribal lines.”

“A full civil war, where civilians pick up arms as a response to the militarization of mainly Arab nomadic communities, loomed large,” said the report.

To read the full text of the report, which covers the five most important stories in Sudan during the last week, please go to https://sudantransparency.org/the-sudan-conflict-observer-issue-1/.

(ST)