Sunday April 16, 2023 | 11:28 a.m.
The Army and a paramilitary group from Sudan were fighting this Sunday for control of the troubled African country for the second consecutive day, despite growing external pressure to cease hostilities that have already left nearly 60 dead among civilians alone.
Heavy fighting involving planes, armored vehicles and trucks with mounted machine guns rocked the capital of Khartoum, the neighboring city of Omdurman and hot spots across the country on Sunday.
Rival forces of the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (FAR) paramilitary group are believed to have tens of thousands of fighters each in the capital of the large northeast African country alone.
A union of doctors said that at least 56 civilians were killed and that it believed there were dozens of additional deaths among enemy forces.
The Central Medical Committee said about 600 people were injured, including civilians and fighters.
The clashes are the culmination of months of tensions between the Army and the FAR, its former ally.
Those tensions had already delayed a deal with political parties to return the country to its brief transition to democracy, which was derailed by a military coup in October 2021.
In Khartoum and Omdurman there was fighting this Sunday around the military headquarters, the international airport and the headquarters of state television.
A military official said FAR fighters clashed with troops at the military barracks early Sunday and a fire broke out at a facility for ground troops.
In the capital, smoke was seen above the paramilitary headquarters and the international airport, the AFP news agency reported.
Both the Army and the FAR claimed to have control of strategic locations in Khartoum and other parts of that central-eastern area of the country.
Both parties said last Saturday night that they were not willing to negotiate.
