Sudan's Ruling Council Declares RSF as 'Rebels', and Orders Their Dissolution

On Monday, Sudan's army chief branded the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a rebellious group and ordered it be dissolved, as the faction battled the army in deadly violence that derailed a shift to civilian rule and prompted U.S. calls for a ceasefire.

 Both sides claimed they made gains on Monday, in a violent, nationwide power struggle the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, an activist group, said has killed at least 97 civilians and 45 soldiers, with a total of 942 injured, since the fighting started at the weekend.

The government has not published a toll in fighting that has spurred fears of a wider civil conflict. Bombardments and strikes from fighter jets rocked Khartoum on Monday, including near the military headquarters, and in Bahri just across the Nile River near another base, witnesses in the areas said. Smoke billowed from the runway of the capital's international airport, where explosions and fires were visible on TV images. 

The rare outbreak of fighting in the capital has spread to other parts of Sudan, pitting the armed forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a former militia that had been due to merge with the army and whose leaders shared power in a ruling military council. Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan heads the ruling council while RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is his deputy. Both sides said they had made gains on Monday.

The RSF claimed it had captured an airport and military bases, while the military said it was in control of its headquarters despite what it called "limited clashes" in the vicinity. Reuters verified video showing RSF forces in some of those locations but could not verify battlefield claims. The army regained control of the main television station, which briefly went off air after gunfire was heard during a live broadcast. The station began broadcasting videos showing the army destroying RSF vehicles, a day after the RSF said it had taken over the building.

A protracted power struggle raises the risk of Sudan falling into civil war four years after long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir was toppled in an uprising, as well as derailing an internationally-backed framework deal to launch a civilian transition that was due to be signed earlier this month. Egypt, which has long been wary of political change in Khartoum, is the most important backer of Sudan's armed forces. Hemedti has cultivated ties with several foreign powers including the United Arab Emirates and Russia.