As fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces escalates in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, gunfire and explosions have spread to the city’s west and south.
The army claims to have deployed thousands of soldiers, conducting operations on foot for the first time since fighting erupted nearly a week ago.
“There was a lot of heavy gunfire in this area.” “It’s possible that some of the paramilitary forces were chased into the neighborhood by Sudanese armed forces from the main road that they had been occupying,” Kholood Khair, a political analyst based in Khartoum, told the BBC’s Newshour program.
“This demonstrates how ordinary citizens are caught in the crossfire and are collateral in something like this – that these skirmishes, which I expect to become more frequent, will keep a lot of people indoors and afraid.”
She stated that while people were working together to obtain basic supplies, many were in desperate need.
“Everyone is assisting… each other, of course.” This is happening on a much larger scale throughout the city. There have been grocery runs and bread runs, but they have been carefully timed and are not without risk.
“We’re hearing that there are people in the city and across the country who are in a much more desperate situation where there is no access or they can’t leave the premises at any time of day… [Or] they might not have the funds.”
