Blasts flare in Sudan as army renews call for volunteers

Explosions have again rocked Sudan's capital Khartoum as the army rallied civilians to take up arms against a renewed onslaught by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The sound of artillery fire shook the dawn in northwest Khartoum and progressed towards the centre and east of the city on Monday, according to witnesses.

The fighting "began at 4:00 am and is still going," one resident said.

Clashes were reported near the Armored Corps Basic School in south Khartoum, during which army forces used artillery shelling to push back RSF fighters.

The war-torn capital barely saw a few hours of respite after heavy clashes on Sunday between troops loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan and the RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The army announced on Monday that it was ready to "receive and prepare" volunteer fighters, after Burhan last week urged Sudanese "youth and all those able to defend" to join the military.

War-weary civilians have largely rejected the call, pleading for an end to the relentless war.

Ravaged by fighting

Heavy fighting was also reported in the city of Bahri, north of Khartoum, on Monday. Billows of smoke were seen rising from several areas in the city.

In the city of Omdurman, army forces launched a search operation for members of the paramilitary group, witnesses said.

There were no reports yet of casualties.

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the army and RSF since April 15 in a conflict that has killed nearly 3,000 people. However, medics warn the death toll is likely to be much higher, with about two-thirds of health facilities in combat areas still "out of service".

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that the conflict has displaced more than 2.5 million people.

Several cease-fire initiatives mediated by Saudi and US mediators had failed to halt the fighting between the two military rivals.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

Sudan's transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.