Sudan's military conflict between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is sparking a wide range of concerns from the international community, with many countries and international organizations calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Already leaving at least 56 dead, and 595 others wounded, the conflict, which erupted on Saturday morning and raged into Sunday, still showed no sign of easing off.
Sudanese air force called on citizens to stay indoors as they conduct a full aerial survey of areas of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) activity, a statement on the armed forces Facebook page said.
Fierce fighting across Sudan entered a second day as months of tensions between a paramilitary group and the country’s army erupted into violence.
A total of 56 civilians were killed and 595 others were wounded in clashes across Sudan, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said early on Sunday, a day after fighting broke out between Sudan’s military and a government paramilitary force.
Two planes were damaged at the Sudanese capital's international airport as conflict between the army and paramilitaries escalated.
Saudia, formerly called Saudi Arabian Airlines, issued a statement saying one of its Airbus A330 jets was "involved in an accident" at the airport before a flight to Riyadh.
A video posted social media appeared to show smoke coming from two planes emitting smoke at the airport, as did images issued by news agency AFP.
According to data from FlightRadar24, the other plane damaged in the shelling was a Ukraine-based SkyUp 737, operating on behalf of airline Sunwing.
Chad’s government closed its border with Sudan on Saturday and called for calm amid an apparent coup attempt in Khartoum by Sudan’s main paramilitary group.
“Chad appeals to the regional and international community as well as to all friendly countries to prioritise a return to peace,” it said in a statement.
No casualties have been reported among Chinese citizens in the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Charge d' Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan, Zhang Xianghua, said on Sunday.
During an interview with China Media Group, Zhang stated that the Embassy had immediately launched the emergency response mechanism and had requested that the Sudanese side effectively protect the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in the country.
Zhang added that the Embassy had issued emergency security tips to Chinese personnel and institutions in Sudan, coordinated with the Sudanese side to provide support and assistance, and reminded Chinese citizens in Sudan to pay attention to the development of the situation and the information released by the Embassy, not to go outside, and stay away from windows to avoid stray bullets.
China is closely following the latest developments of the situation in Sudan. We call on the two sides to stop fighting as soon as possible and prevent the escalation of tensions. We hope parties in Sudan will increase dialogue and jointly move forward the political transition process.
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday strongly condemned the outbreak of fighting between the two forces, said his spokesman.
"The secretary-general calls on the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm and initiate a dialogue to resolve the current crisis," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.
In notes to correspondents, Dujarric said Guterres spoke to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat on how to de-escalate the situation.
In a separate call, Guterres spoke with RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Guterres will continue his efforts, including by speaking to Sudanese Armed Forces commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as soon as possible, said the spokesman.
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