Sudan's army and rival force clash, wider conflict feared

April 15, 05:33 PM April 15, 05:33 PM

KHARTOUM, Sudan (WHD) — Sudan's military and a powerful paramilitary force engaged in fierce fighting Saturday in the capital and elsewhere in country, dealing a new blow to hopes for a transition to democracy and raising fears of a wider conflict. A doctors’ group said at least three people were killed and dozens injured.

The clashes capped months of heightened tensions between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces group. Those tensions had delayed a deal with political parties to get the country back to its short-lived transition to democracy, which was derailed by an October 2021 military coup.

KAMALA HARRIS IN AFRICA AMID CHINA'S GROWING INFLUENCE ON CONTINENT

After a day of heavy fighting, the military ruled out negotiations with the RSF, instead calling for the dismantling of what it called a “rebellious militia.” The tough language signaled that the conflict between the former allies, who jointly orchestrated the 2021 coup, was likely to continue.

The fighting erupted early Saturday. The sound of heavy firing could be heard throughout the day across the capital, Khartoum, and its sister city of Omdurman, where the military and the RSF have amassed tens of thousands of troops since the coup.

Witnesses said fighters from both sides fired from armored vehicles and from machine guns mounted on pick-up trucks in densely populated areas. Some tanks were seen in Khartoum. The military said it launched strikes from planes and drones at RSF positions in and around the capital.

As night fell, residents said they still heard the sounds of gunfire and explosions in different parts of Khartoum, including around the military’s headquarters and other other bases.

Residents described chaotic scenes. "Fire and explosions are everywhere,” said Amal Mohamed, a doctor in a public hospital in Omdurman. “All are running and seeking shelter.”

“We haven’t seen such battles in Khartoum before,” said Khartoum resident Abdel-Hamid Mustafa.

One of the flashpoints was Khartoum International Airport. There was no formal announcement that the airport was closed, but major airlines suspended their flights. This included Sudan-bound flights from Egypt and Saudi Arabia which turned back after nearly landing at the airport, flight tracking data showed.

Saudi Arabia’s national airline said one of its aircraft was involved in what it called “an accident.” Video showed the plane on fire on the tarmac. Another plane also appeared to have caught fire. Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 identified it as a SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737. SkyUp is a Kyiv, Ukraine-based airline. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate said two civilians were killed at the airport, without specifying the circumstances. The syndicate said another man was shot to death in the state of North Kordofan. The BBC said one of its reporters was stopped by soldiers, taken to the military headquarters and beaten.

The leaders of the armed forces and the RSF traded blame for starting Saturday's fighting and offered conflicting accounts of who was in control of key installations.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, commander of Sudan’s military, told the Qatar-based satellite news network Al Jazeera that RSF troops first “harassed” the military south of Khartoum, triggering the clashes.

Burhan accused the RSF of entering Khartoum airport and setting fire to some planes. He also said all strategic facilities including the military’s headquarters and the Republican palace, the seat of Sudan's presidency, are under his forces’ control. He threatened to deploy more troops to Khartoum from across the county.

The head of the RSF, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, accused Burhan of starting the battle by surrounding RSF troops. "This criminal, he forced this battle upon us,” he said.

Dagalo told Al Jazeera that he believes that in “the next few days” it would be over.

The RSF alleged that its forces controlled strategic locations in Khartoum and the northern city of Merowe some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of the capital. The military dismissed the claims as “lies.”

The fighting comes after months of escalating tensions between the generals and years of political unrest after the 2021 coup. The tensions stem from a disagreement over how the RSF, headed by Dagalo, should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee the process. The merger is a key condition of Sudan’s unsigned transition agreement with political groups.

Pro-democracy activists have blamed Burhan and Dagalo for abuses against protesters across the county over the past four years, including the deadly break-up of a protest camp outside the military’s headquarters in Khartoum in June 2019 that killed over 120 protesters. Many groups have repeatedly called for holding them accountable. The RSF has long been accused of atrocities linked to the Darfur conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats expressed extreme concern Saturday over the outbreak of violence. “We urge all actors to stop the violence immediately and avoid further escalations or troop mobilizations and continue talks to resolve outstanding issues,” Blinken wrote on Twitter.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell; the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat; the Arab League chief, Ahmed Aboul Gheit; and Qatar all called for a cease-fire and for both parties to return to negotiations to settle their dispute. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called on those fighting in Sudan to exercise restraint and work toward a political solution in the county.

Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted in the 2021 coup, warned of a possible regional conflict if the fighting escalates. “Shooting must stop immediately,” he said in a video appeal to both sides posted on his Twitter account.

Cameron Hudson, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank and a former U.S. diplomat, said he was not surprised by the fighting.

“This has been coming for many years," he said.

Hudson voiced concern the conflict could become wider and more prolonged, calling on the United States to form a coalition of regional countries to pressure military and RSF leaders to de-escalate fighting.

Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy for Sudan, and the Saudi ambassador in Sudan, Ali Bin Hassan Jaffar, were in contact with Dagalo and Burhan to try to end the violence, said a U.N. official who asked for anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Meanwhile, Chad announced that it is closing its land borders with Sudan until further notice because of the fighting.

The clashes centered in Khartoum but also took place in other areas across the country including the Northern province, the conflict-ravaged Darfur region, and the strategic coastal city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

Jan. 6 anniversary: Changes and unanswered questions since the Capitol riot

Kaelan Deese

January 06, 12:48 PM January 06, 12:48 PM

Two years have gone by since the riot at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of people spurred by former President Donald Trump's stolen election claims that stormed into the building, wreaked havoc on law enforcement, and left a lasting stain on the country's tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.

Despite the hours of public hearings and thousands of pages of interview transcripts from close allies of Trump and other key witnesses due to the information gathering of the House Jan. 6 Committee, much about the fateful day is still unknown.

FALLEN CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER BRIAN SICKNICK'S PARTNER SUES TRUMP

Here are the major changes to what we know and the outstanding unanswered questions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Unanswered: Who is responsible for the Jan. 6 pipe bombs

One of the most jarring and potentially catastrophic findings leading up to the riot is the unresolved mystery behind the pipe bombs discovered on Jan. 5, 2021, outside the Democratic and Republican Party headquarters just blocks away from the Capitol.

The bombs were affixed with amateur mechanical timing devices and were discovered the afternoon of Jan. 6, creating further chaos to the already out-of-control protest-turned-riot.

Federal investigators have released bits of information surrounding the bomber, including footage showing a person dressed in a hoodie with gloves and a map drawn from CCTV camera video depicting the route the person walked while planting the bombs. To this day, the FBI has been unable to identify a culprit.

FBI officials raised the reward for information on the person who planted the bombs to $500,000 after the agency previously offered $100,000.

Change: Major crackdown on rioters

In just two years, the number of people arrested in connection to the riot has grown steadily all the way to 950 people from nearly all 50 states, with the highest charges being seditious conspiracy to more prevalent charges such as disorderly conduct.

Nearly 860 of Jan. 6 defendants face charges over entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, according to the Justice Department.

The next range of high-volume charges relates to misdemeanors and felonies surrounding violence, property destruction, and firearms charges. Around 484 individuals have pleaded guilty to charges in this category.

Of the total number of people charged for Capitol riot-related crimes, 526 have pleaded guilty or been convicted by trial. 353 have been sentenced, with 195 receiving incarceration time as part of the sentence, according to George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, which tracks the cases.

One of the most prominent trials featured Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy but was acquitted of other conspiracy charges. The result of the mixed verdict indicates that while the jury believed the riot unfolded with elements of spontaneity, they also believe Rhodes made a plan to use force to keep Trump in office.

Unanswered: Will Trump be prosecuted?

The House Jan. 6 Committee concluded its monthslong investigation last month by calling on the Justice Department to prosecute Trump on four charges: conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to make false statements, obstruction of an official proceeding, and inciting an insurrection.

Such recommendations do not legally require any action on behalf of the agency to prosecute the former president, who has not been held legally responsible for the riot. There are also a number of key evidentiary facts for the agency to consider whether there is solid culpability behind the former president's actions.

For example, Trump used the word “peacefully” once and the word “fight” 23 times during his speech to a vast crowd of thousands of supporters at the White House Ellipse, where he called on then-Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the 2020 election results for Joe Biden. He told the crowd at 12:17 p.m. that he would walk with them to the Capitol and concluded his speech by 1:12 p.m. However, video evidence shows protesters walking to the Capitol by 12:29 p.m., with the first breach of the barricade occurring at 12:53 p.m.

The former president recanted on his promise to join the protesters in their march and went back to the White House. As the Senate was called into recess at 2:13 p.m. when rioters arrived near the Senate chamber door, Trump tweeted nearly 10 minutes later at 2:24 p.m. that Pence "didn't have the courage to do what should have been done...."

Trump never explicitly told the crowd to violently assault law enforcement. However, he did tell his followers: "If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore."

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith in November to take over the investigation into Trump's role in the Capitol riot and the inquiry into his decision to retain sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida. Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Change: Electoral Count Act reforms, taking VP role out of election certification

As part of President Joe Biden's $1.7 trillion bipartisan budget deal that passed last month, a key provision was rewriting the 19th century Electoral Count Act that aims to avert a repeat of Trump's expressed desires to his vice president ahead of the riot.

The bill, which was formed through bipartisan efforts in Congress, clarifies that the vice president only has a ceremonial role in counting the Electoral College votes.

Trump and his legal allies argued the law as it was previously written allowed the vice president to reject electors from states with perceived irregularities in their election results. The bill's authors were Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

Change: Measures to protect law enforcement, judges, and efforts at the Capitol to improve security

Threats against law enforcement, public officials, and specifically judges have ascended in numbers in the years leading up to 2020 and into 2023, spurred by bouts of outrage from people on the Left and the Right.

Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said last month that threats against lawmakers are up 400% in the last six years during a hearing to a key Senate panel on Monday.

The U.S. Marshals Service reported judges were subject to 4,511 threats and inappropriate communications in 2021, an increase from 926 in 2015.

In order to counteract such threats, the Capitol Police Board released a 10-page report one year ago detailing security improvements such as allowing Capitol Police to request National Guard assistance, police operational planning and communication improvements, and significant physical improvements to the building's structure.

Lawmakers passed the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act last year as part of a vast defense authorization bill that aims to improve security for federal judges. The bill permits judges to redact their personal information from government websites and prevents people and organizations from publishing such information online if judges have made a written request to disallow the posting of such information.