Africa

Sudan faces an attempted coup as its military engages in battles in Khartoum against rival paramilitary forces. The clashes have so far killed dozens of civilians and fighters. According to a Reuters report, “The fighting that broke out on Saturday between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is the first such outbreak since both joined forces to oust president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019.”

On an arid plot of land in northern Nigeria, veiled women hurry past vegetable stalls and men idle outside endless rows of tarpaulin tents in what, at first glance, appears to be a typical camp for displaced people.

In reality, Hajj Camp in Borno State is a centre for processing tens of thousands of jihadists, their families and those who lived under their control. In exchange for freedom, the government persuaded them to turn themselves in — a move aimed at ending an insurgency by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) group that has killed thousands and displaced over two million since 2009.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame met his Benin counterpart Patrice Talon at the weekend, promising military support to help the west African nation contain a spillover from jihadist conflict at Benin’s northern border with Burkina Faso.

Internal and local efforts and negotiation initiatives put forward to contain the crisis between the commander of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have essentially come to a halt, Sudanese and international organisations say, as the warring parties refuse to communicate.

The civilian death toll is climbing and concern over a broader conflict is growing as rival generals vie for control of Africa’s third-largest country.

Sudan’s nightmare scenario is coming to pass.

Fighter jets screamed over Khartoum, the capital, on Sunday, firing rockets into a city of millions. Artillery barrages slammed into the military headquarters, reducing it to a tower of flames. Civilian planes were bombed at the city’s airport, where terrified passengers cowered on the terminal floors.

Here is a look at the power struggle and violence that are taking place in the country.

Fighting has erupted in Khartoum and other cities in Sudan as powerful rival military factions battle for control, increasing the risk of a nationwide civil war.

Rapid Support Forces, however, announced that it accepted an international initiative for a truce to stop the clashes with the Sudanese army for 24 hours for humanitarian reasons.

On Tuesday, Sudan accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of attacking the headquarters of diplomatic missions in the capital Khartoum.