15″ April “2023
The international community has condemned the escalation of violence in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.
Heavy gunfire and blasts were reported following days of tension between the armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
United States
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the situation in Sudan was “fragile” but insisted there was still an opportunity to complete a transition to a civilian-led government.
Blinken alleged some actors “may be pushing against that progress”.
犀利士US Ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey said on Twitter he was “currently sheltering in place with the Embassy team, as Sudanese throughout Khartoum and elsewhere are doing”.
“Escalation of tensions within the military component to direct fighting is extremely dangerous,” Godfrey wrote. “I urgently call on senior military leaders to stop the fighting.”
United Kingdom
Britain’s embassy in Sudan urged its nationals there to remain indoors.
“We are closely monitoring the situation in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan where there are ongoing military clashes,” the embassy said on Twitter. “We advise all British Nationals in Sudan to remain indoors and follow our travel advice for more updates.”
Egypt
Egypt expressed grave concern over the ongoing clashes in Sudan and called on all parties to exercise restraint, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi government said it was “deeply concerned” over the escalation and heavy fighting in Sudan. It called on the warring factions to “choose dialogue over conflict”.
United Nations
The UN’s special envoy for Sudan Volker Perthes “strongly condemned” the eruption of fighting in the country and urged an “immediate” halt to the violence.
Perthes “has reached out to both parties asking them for an immediate cessation of fighting to ensure the safety of the Sudanese people”, a statement said.
RSF commander Dagalo accuses army of attempted coup, calls Burhan a criminal
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has called army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan a criminal and accused the army of carrying out a coup, in a phone interview with Al Jazeera.
Also known as Hemedti, the RSF leader said his troops were forced into a confrontation.