The Sudanese military battles the country's Rapid Support Forces. Photo: AFP
The European Union's ambassador to Sudan was attacked at his residence in Khartoum on Monday.
Veteran Irish diplomat Aidan O'Hara was reported to be 'fine'; after the attack, but there were few immediate details.
He was attacked as fighting between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitaries killed about 200 people after three days of fighting in the cities.
Josep Borell, EU foreign policy chief who confirmed the attack on the diplomat, said: «This is a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention.»
«The security of diplomatic premises and personnel is a fundamental responsibility of the Sudanese authorities and an obligation under international law.» is our priority. The EU delegation was not evacuated. Security measures are being assessed.
The United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan.
A US embassy armored car reportedly came under fire in Khartoum, but no one was hurt.
The US said it is not currently planning to evacuate the government from Sudan.
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White House national security spokesman John Kirby said: «We urge American citizens in Sudan to take this situation seriously.» />
Meanwhile, a member of a powerful Sudanese paramilitary force fighting the country's armed forces has announced his defection, perhaps a sign that the army is gaining the upper hand after three days of fighting.
Since Saturday, the Sudanese military has been fighting with The country's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) around the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan after weeks of escalating tensions between the leaders of the two sides, who hold the top two positions in Sudan's ruling council.
At least 97 civilians have been killed and 365 injured, according to a group of Sudanese doctors, as fighting between rival factions threatens to derail the country's stumbling transition from autocracy to civilian rule.
But military air superiority could prove to be decisive as aircraft bomb RSF bases.
Air strikes and artillery shelling intensified around the capital on Monday, residents said, and heavy fighting was heard near the military headquarters.
«Shooting and artillery fire everywhere,» Awadeyah Mahmoud Koko, head of the union for thousands of tea sellers and other food workers, said from her home in Khartoum.
She told the Associated Press that on Sunday a neighbor's house was projectile, killing at least three people. «We couldn't take them to the hospital or bury them.»
Najm Eldin Abdallah, RSF spokesman, announced his defection to the armed forces in a video posted online on Monday.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) official has announced his defection to the Sudanese Armed Forces. pic.twitter.com/HBa4ZcEGv2
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 17, 2023
“I am now responding to orders from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, which he issued last night, to terminate the powers of officers of the armed forces who are on service in the Rapid Support Forces,” he said.
The RSF originated from the so-called Janjaweed militias who sowed terror in Darfur in the 2000s on behalf of the government. Led by warlord Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti, the RSF was later incorporated into the Sudanese armed forces.
Since a popular protest movement toppled longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, Hemedti has been in a power struggle with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese military.
< p>On Monday, Hemedty urged the international community to support him in his fight against General Burhan, whom he called a «radical Islamist» and accused of bombing civilians.
«We are fighting against radical Islamists who hope to keep Sudan isolated, in the dark and away from democracy. We will continue to pursue Al-Burhan and bring him to justice,” he tweeted, writing in English in his first post on the platform since the fighting began.
The international community must immediately take action and intervene against the crimes of Sudanese General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, a radical Islamist who bombs civilians from the air. His army is waging a brutal campaign against innocent people by bombing them with MiGs. 1/4
— Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (@GeneralDagllo) April 17, 2023
The UN and US have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, echoing calls made on Saturday.
“The near future is in the hands of the generals who are involved in this fight,” said Foreign Secretary James Cleverley. “We urge them to put peace first, end the fighting and return to negotiations. This is what the people of Sudan want, this is what the people of Sudan deserve.”
UN Special Representative Volker Perthes said he was “extremely disappointed” that a ceasefire was reached on Sunday allowing the evacuation of civilians to be “observed only partially.
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