**Sudan: All-Out War Erupts In Clash Of Rival Military Forces - Casualties Mount**
Sudan: All-Out War Erupts In Clash Of Rival Military Forces - Casualties Mount
**Smoldering tensions between rival armed forces erupted into all-out warfare in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, leaving at least 50 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65284945) dead and 600 injured.** What began as a peaceful clash over Sudan's political future is now a war for control of Africa's third-largest (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1207844/largest-countries-in-africa-by-area/) country .
The battles pit **the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)** led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against **the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)** of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo -- who's also known as Hemedti and has served as Burhan's deputy head of state.
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?itok=-dAcYwz8)via (?itok=-dAcYwz8)Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/place/Sudan)
**The two generals united in a 2021 coup to take shared control of the country**. However, recent months have seen mounting tensions between the SAF and RSF, as the generals have clashing positions in negotiations for the establishment of civilian government -- something the country's been trying to achieve since a 2019 revolution overthrew the 30-year reign of President Omar al-Bashir.
To say things have soured among the two former allies would be a major understatement: After fighting erupted, **Hemedti has reportedly (https://twitter.com/NesrineMalik/status/1647210334107713536?s=20) said that "Burhan will be captured or he will die like a dog."** Meanwhile, in a gesture that seems comically empty given the state of affairs, Burhan issued a decree commanding the RSF to disband (https://sputnikglobe.com/20230415/sudanese-army-chief-orders-rebel-militia-rapid-support-forces-to-disband-1109564077.html).
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**Generals Dagalo aka Hemedti (left) and Burhan**(Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via AFP) (
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It's unclear who fired the first shot, but now **the two forces are battling for control of key Khartoum locations, including the presidential palace, army headquarters, state television and the airport**.
Battles have also been reported in various other cities. " **Large numbers of casualties reported in Nyala, South Darfur,"**tweeted (https://twitter.com/moehash1/status/1647253358384742400?s=20) BBC freelancer Mohanad Hashim. "We need to build a better picture of what is going on beyond Khartoum."
While _ZeroHedge_ can't authenticate them, videos are circulating on social media that purportedly show various scenes of combat. Here, a multiple-rocket launch system is deployed from the bed of a light truck, as other soldiers make a tardy exit from the backblast area:
> جانب من إشتباكات المدن.
>
> الله يحفظنا pic.twitter.com/Iv8fb5CVgT (https://t.co/Iv8fb5CVgT)
>
> — ملوك إشتباكات المواكب #رفاق\_الثورة (@Moshtabk) April 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/Moshtabk/status/1647173270662262784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
**SAF jets were seen screeching low over the Khartoum skyline as they conducted airstrikes on RSF positions** in and around the city.
> Low-flying jets from Sudan Air Force over Khartoum. H/T to @amalhamdanelex (https://twitter.com/amalhamdanelex?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) for sharing.
>
> pic.twitter.com/F2OIzUJVbI (https://t.co/F2OIzUJVbI)
>
> — Benjamin Strick (@BenDoBrown) April 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/BenDoBrown/status/1647198909452759041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> Sudanese Air Force MiG-29 jet conducts airstrikes against RSF (Rapid Reaction/Support Forces) in Khartoum pic.twitter.com/AcrY3zhMBG (https://t.co/AcrY3zhMBG)
>
> — LogKa (@LogKa11) April 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/LogKa11/status/1647270930870042624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Some of the earliest fighting took place at Khartoum International Airport. Saudi Arabia's national airline, Saudia, reported one of its Airbus A330 jets had an "accident (https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-airline-involved-accident-airport-khartoum-sudan-2023-4)." It was seen engulfed in flame, while **other videos showed multiple commercial aircraft ablaze**. All flights have been cancelled.
> BREAKING: Planes on fire at Khartoum airport after coup attempt in Sudan pic.twitter.com/aWdyMv23xs (https://t.co/aWdyMv23xs)
>
> — BNO News (@BNONews) April 15, 2023 (https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1647185120313372673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
**Battles continued to rage overnight,** lighting up t…