KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The Sudanese capital Khartoum experienced a difficult day on Saturday after the political debate turned into mutual bullets between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as a result of which residents of the capital were horrified by fierce fighting between the country's two largest military forces amid fears of a widening confrontation between them.
The two sides have made mutual accusations of responsibility for starting the battle amid conflicting information about the course of military clashes, which portends a stalemate in the country's stalled political process.
Security sources revealed to Al Jazeera Net that the army and rapid support raised the degree of readiness amid their forces for more than two months, and mobilized their weapons, and brought troops and military reinforcements from the states to Khartoum, accompanied by disagreement over the integration of the Rapid Support Forces in the army and Tlassen leaders of the two sides.
The sources stated that the lack of trust between the head of the Sovereignty Council and army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti), is behind the failure of mediation initiatives to contain their differences, but the two sides committed not to initiate fire towards the other.
According to the same sources, the state of mobilization among the army and rapid support forces created a tense atmosphere, and made the occurrence of the military confrontation between them dependent on the firing of the first bullet, while the outbreak of fighting in Khartoum was considered a result of intersections in positions on the political process and attempts to create alliances and change the balance of power.
Conflict between Al-Burhan and Hemedti
Army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan blamed the Rapid Support Forces for initiating the attack when they harassed a force from the army near the Sports City, south of Khartoum, at nine in the morning, before attacking his residence inside the army headquarters in the center of the capital.
Burhan said – in a statement to Al Jazeera – "They still rule the voice of reason, and call on the Rapid Support Forces to withdraw their forces from Khartoum to the states from which they came," adding that the forces of the Rapid Support infiltrated Khartoum airport through the Hajj and Umrah hall, and burned planes stationed at the airport.
Al-Burhan said the situation was under control "and they have good reserves and bases outside Khartoum that can be called in if the fighting continues".
On the other hand, the commander of the Rapid Support Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) said – in statements to Al Jazeera Mubasher – that the army began the war by besieging its forces in the Soba area, south of Khartoum, and attacking them with large forces.
Hemedti held the army commander Burhan responsible, describing him as "evasive and a liar," and said that "his forces took control of the army headquarters, the Republican Palace and the guest house where Burhan's house is located, and took control of the airports of Khartoum, Meroe and El Obeid in North Kordofan state, and completely destroyed the air force and its unit and captured about 100 officers and more than a thousand soldiers."
Hemedti added that the battle will not stop until he controls all army headquarters and bases, vowing to pursue Burhan and bring him to justice, accusing him of destroying Sudan.
Battle course
An official in the army operations room told Al Jazeera Net that the army forces were able to destroy the bases of the support forces in the area of Soba and Taiba in southern Khartoum by military aviation, and control the headquarters near the area of Al-Jili in the north of the capital and another in Al-Salha in Omdurman, and the destruction of the headquarters of the main command in which the office of Hemedti in central Khartoum, and control of the headquarters of the Special Forces for Rapid Support and surrender.
The official said that more than 1200,<> army officers who were seconded to the Rapid Support Forces ended their assignment and returned to the army, and the Rapid Support Forces in Kosti in White Nile state, Gedaref in Gedaref state and Port Sudan in Red Sea state refused to enter the battles.
Military expert Mohammed al-Senussi said the army has tanks and air force, which makes it more likely for its forces to have the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which move with fast-moving four-wheel drive vehicles, but do not resolve battles despite the use of heavy weapons, cannons, missiles and anti-aircraft.
Senussi warned – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the outbreak of the battle in Khartoum will prolong the days because it is a war of cities difficult to resolve with planes and heavy weapons and will cause civilian casualties, because the majority of military sites in the middle of residential neighborhoods and the use of heavy weapons and aviation will increase the number of victims.
Sanussi said that the army deals with the RSF as a rebel force, as well as dealing with it by military rather than political means, and that the relationship between Burhan and Hemedti will not return as it was after the blood was shed between their forces, in addition to the latter's language towards the army leadership crossed "red lines."
Chances of a solution
African diplomatic sources in Khartoum confirmed to Al Jazeera Net that the parties communicated with Burhan and Hemedti for calm and ceasefire, and informed the first that the truce begins with the withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces, which he mobilized during the past weeks in Khartoum, and out of the cities, and set a timetable to integrate them into the army and put them under his command.
On the other hand, Hemedti told the mediators that he could not deal with Burhan and did not trust him, and demanded that the army commander step down, purge the army of elements of the former regime (the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir), and carry out security and military reforms to unify the forces.
He believed that the two sides give priority to military decisiveness at this stage, and have not shown willingness to make concessions, and both sides feel that they have been betrayed and betrayed, and hold each other endangering the safety of the country by responding to the desires and agenda of political parties that want to seize power or return to it after losing it.
The future of the political process
Analysts believe that the political process will be frozen until the end of the military confrontations, and university professor and political analyst Omar al-Tayeb says that the ongoing battles will put the political process in a "refrigerator" if it does not enter the "intensive care" room, and ruled out its resumption soon.
Tayeb expected – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that Burhan imposes a state of emergency in the country, and the formation of a caretaker government with a civilian prime minister and assigns it to hold elections in a period not exceeding 18 months, pointing out that the forces of freedom and change - the Central Council will reject it, while other political parties will support it, which enters the country in a state of attraction and conflict and the continuation of the state of stability.
Security expert Salem Ezz el-Din expects the army to resolve military confrontations in Khartoum due to its military superiority, but the RSF will turn to Darfur, where tens of thousands of fighters are deployed and additional forces are recruited and armed across the country's western borders with Libya, Chad and Central Africa, especially as it has cooperation with regional countries and Russia.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Ezz el-Din believes that the Rapid Support Forces will seek from the Darfur region to confront government forces, which will return the region to the war box and pressure Khartoum to negotiate with it.
It is not excluded that the ongoing war will intensify international pressure on Burhan and Hemedti to calm down, and any settlement to resolve the crisis may lead to the two men stepping down to open the door to the return of the path of transition and democratic transition, pointing out that the ambitions of the President of the Sovereignty Council and his deputy to rule the country are behind the divergence of their positions and the struggle for control over the reins of control.