Sudan army, paramilitary clashes kill 59 civilians, including Indian

Sudan’s army appeared to gain the upper hand on Sunday in a bloody power struggle with rival paramilitary forces after blasting its bases with air strikes, witnesses said, and at least 59 civilians were killed including three UN workers.
 

The fighting broke out on Saturday between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
 

It was the first such outbreak since both joined forces to oust president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019.
 

International powers - the United States, China, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, European Union and African Union - have appealed for an immediate end to the hostilities.
 

Efforts by neighbours and regional bodies to end the violence intensified on Sunday. That included an offer by Egypt and South Sudan to mediate between the fighting parties, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.
 

At the end of a day of heavy fighting, the army struck a base belonging to the RSF in the city of Omdurman, which adjoins the capital Khartoum, witnesses said late on Saturday.
 

Both the military and the RSF claimed they had control of Sudan's airport and other key installations in Khartoum, where fighting raged overnight.
 

The two rivals have been competing for power as political factions negotiate forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup.
 

In the early hours of Sunday, residents reported hearing gunfire and explosions from heavy artillery through the night.

Al Arabiya television broadcast footage showing thick plume of smoke rising over some districts in Khartoum.
 

"We're scared, we haven't slept for 24 hours because of the noise and the house shaking. We're worried about running out of water and food, and medicine for my diabetic father," Huda, a young resident in southern Khartoum told Reuters.