Embassy of India in Sudan has issued a crucial notice for Indians advising them to stay indoors in order to stay protected amid tense situations in the country. In view of reported firings and clashes, the embassy has urged the Indians to stay indoors and stop venturing outside with immediate effect.
Embassy's advisory to Indians
'In view of reported firings and clashes, all Indians are advised to take utmost precautions, stay indoors and stop venturing outside with immediate effect. Please also stay calm and wait for updates, reads the tweet from the Embassy of India in Sudan.
Tension in Sudan
Meanwhile, sustained firing was heard in the Sudanese capital Saturday morning amid tensions between the military and the country's powerful paramilitary forces. The firing could be heard in a number of areas, including central Khartoum and the neighbourhood of Bahri.
Tensions between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, as the paramilitary is known, have escalated in recent months, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally backed deal with political parties to revive the country's democratic transition. In a statement issued Saturday morning, the RSF accused the army of attacking its forces at one of its bases in South Khartoum.
Tensions between the army and the paramilitary
The military used light and heavy weapons in the attack, it said. Current tensions between the army and the paramilitary stem from a disagreement over how the RSF should be integrated into the military and what authority should oversee the process.
The merger is a key condition of Sudan's unsigned transition agreement. However, the army-RSF rivalry dates back to the rule of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in 2019. Under the former president, the paramilitary force, led by powerful Gen.
Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, grew out of former militias known as the Janjaweed that carried out a brutal crackdown in Sudan's Darfur region during the decades of conflict there.
Paramilitary group claimed control of Presidential Palace
The Sudanese paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has said that they have claimed control of the Presidential Palace, as tensions between rival factions of armed forces in Sudan escalated into violence, reported CNN. Witnesses told CNN that heavy fighting had been reported around the Presidential Palace and Army Headquarters in Sudan's capital Khartoum.
The RSF, in a statement, also claimed control of airports in Khartoum, Marwa and al-Abaid and subsequently the flights out of the international airport were cancelled. According to the RSF, they were reacting to a surprise attack from the army on one of their bases, as per CNN.
(with inputs from agencies)
