19 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Sudanese Army has assured that during the latest fighting it has taken control of the Meroue airport (north), one of the epicenters of the clashes with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which broke out on Saturday in the framework of a dispute between the two organizations.
The spokesman for the Armed Forces, Nabil Abdullah, said in a statement that the RSF had withdrawn from the Meroue airport after the latest fighting and added that the militiamen “have tried to loot” the city of Meroue during their withdrawal, according to reports. reported the Sudanese state news agency, SUNA.
Likewise, he has emphasized that the situation in the capital, Khartoum, is “stable”, except for “small skirmishes around the airport”, and has denounced that there are “firm indications” about the participation of “regional” actors in what which he has described as “a conspiracy” against Sudan.
“We maintain a precise level of command and control of our forces,” said Abdullah, who recalled the decision by the head of the Army, Abdalá al Burhan, to grant amnesty to those who hand over their weapons, rejected by the RSF, who consider that the also president of the Sovereign Transition Council no longer has powers.
The hostilities, which have already left more than 250 dead, broke out on Saturday in the context of an increase in tensions around the reform of the security apparatus and the integration of the paramilitary force — led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias ‘ Hemedti’, who is also vice president of the Sovereign Transition Council– within the Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and reactivate the transition.
The talks process began with international mediation after Al Burhan led a coup in October 2021 that overthrew the then unity prime minister, Abdalá Hamdok, appointed to the position as a result of contacts between civilians and the military after the riot of April 2019, which put an end to 30 years of the regime of Omar Hasan al Bashir.
