As the war between the army and paramilitary forces entered its fifth week, the humanitarian crisis for trapped and displaced civilians in Sudan worsened with the resumption of airstrikes on the capital Khartoum and its sister city Bahri on Friday.
Residents of Khartoum who have been trapped by fierce fighting between the regular military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have reportedly been subjected to widespread looting by both armed men and civilians, exacerbating an already difficult situation.
According to the UN refugee agency, the conflict has displaced 843,000 people within Sudan, and another 250,000 have fled to neighboring countries.
On Friday, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took the long-awaited action of removing RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, from his position as his deputy on the ruling Sovereign Council.
The two had led the council since 2019, when they deposed President Omar al-Bashir following widespread protests against his rule, and again in 2021, when the time came to stage a coup in preparation for a return to civilian rule ahead of elections.
Fighting broke out on April 15 as part of an international agreement to move Sudan toward democracy after decades of conflict-ridden autocracy, over disagreements over plans to integrate the RSF into the army and the future chain of command.
Burhan appointed Malik Agar, the leader of a rebel group that joined the council in 2020 after reaching a peace agreement with the government, as his new deputy in a second decree.
Later that day, Burhan appointed General Shams El-Din Kabbashi as deputy commander of the armed forces, among other promotions for council members. Generals Yasser Al-Atta and Ibrahim Jabir were appointed as the commander’s deputies.
Air strikes were launched east of Khartoum, and witnesses reported hearing RSF anti-aircraft weapons being used. Overnight and early Friday, air strikes hit Bahri and Sharg el-Nil on the other side of the Nile from Khartoum.
