Sudan: Fighting Continues In Khartoum Amid Heavy Clashes

Sudan's army increased its efforts to gain territory in Khartoum on Tuesday, in some of the worst fighting since the start of a battle with a rival military unit that has resulted in a mounting humanitarian catastrophe.

According to witnesses, the army has begun air strikes and heavy artillery since Monday in an attempt to seize a bridge across the Nile used by the opposing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to transport troops and weaponry from Omdurman to the other two cities that make up the larger capital, Bahri and Khartoum.

The RSF, which seized much of the capital when violence broke out in mid-April, responded violently, resulting in significant confrontations in residential neighbourhoods as well as civilian fatalities and displacement.

At least nine people were killed, according to activists in eastern Omdurman.

"The situation in Omdurman is terrifying," said Nader Abdullah, a 52-year-old local, to media sources. Gunfire, artillery, and air strikes, there's bombardment coming from every direction."

Tensions between the army and the RSF, which together planned a coup in 2021, escalated four years after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir during a popular revolt, resulting in the outbreak of the conflict.

Both sides have claimed military advancements in recent days, but no meaningful breakthrough has been made. 

Efforts to achieve a cease-fire spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and the United States have faltered.