Sudan paramilitaries press assault on key army base

Sudanese paramilitaries fought the regular army in Khartoum on Thursday as they targeted a key military base in the south of the capital for the fourth consecutive day, witnesses said.

Fighters from Mohamed Hamdan Daglo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began their assault on the vast strategic base on several fronts on Sunday.

Residents of Al-Shajara, the neighborhood where the base is situated, reported "large losses on both sides" on the first day of the attack when the fighting was constant.

"This is the longest the fighting has lasted in Al-Shajara," said one.

The army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has put out several statements and videos saying it has repelled the RSF attacks.

A grab from a UGC video posted on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 22, 2023 reportedly shows members of the Sudanese army firing at Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters in what they say is the al-Shajara military base in Khartoum. Paramilitaries fought the regular army in Khartoum on Aug. 23 as they targeted a key base for armoured forces in the south of the capital for the fourth consecutive day, residents said. (Credit: UGC/AFP)

But the paramilitaries said that since early Wednesday the RSF had "taken control of nearly the entire camp, with only a few minor areas still under contention."

Both sides post regular videos online showing what they say is their men inside the base, but it is not possible to independently verify which force holds which perimeter.

Each side has in the past claimed to have taken strongholds in Khartoum while they are in fact still fighting for them, as was the case with the army headquarters and the presidential palace.

The war between the rival generals and former allies erupted on April 15, and conservative estimates from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project are that nearly 5,000 people have been killed since then.

It has proved impossible to estimate a reliable toll as both sides refuse to reveal their losses and many of the conflict areas, such as the vast Darfur region in the west, have had their communications with the outside world severed.

The bodies of many people caught in the crossfire have also not been able to be recovered.

According to United Nations figures, in the four months since the fighting broke out more than four million people have had to flee their homes.

UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths late Tuesday again pleaded for both parties to stop fighting so aid could get through.

In a joint appeal on August 15, the heads of 20 global organizations had warned that "more than six million Sudanese people are one step away from famine".