At least 56 people have been killed as Sudan’s armed forces battled the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the country, according to the Sudanese Doctors’ Union.
The doctor’s union also said 595 people were wounded in the fighting that broke out on Saturday.
Fighting continued well into the night in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country after months of tensions erupted between two rival military leaders.
The sound of heavy weapons could be heard as the military urged Sudanese to remain inside their homes. Schools, banks and government offices would be closed on Sunday.
Both sides claim they control key airports and other installations.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to the military leader Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, calling for an immediate end to violence and a return to dialogue.
Burhan overthrew long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Eighteen months later, the military and the RSF staged a second coup, upending a transition to democracy.
Disagreements between Burhan and Dagalo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army have now turned into open conflict.
The armed forces, on its Facebook page, declared Dagalo a “wanted criminal” and the RSF a “rebel militia,” saying there “will be no negotiations or talks until the dissolution” of the group.
In an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, Dagalo accused Burhan of starting the battle by surrounding RSF troops. “This criminal, he forced this battle upon us,” he said.
Violent clashes
The Sudanese military has carried out air strikes on a base belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the city of Omdurman, eyewitnesses told the Reuters news agency.
The Sudanese air force called on citizens to stay indoors as they conducted operations in the areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).