Both the army and the RSF claimed they were in control of Sudan’s airport and other key installations in Khartoum, where fighting continued throughout the night.
Two rivals are competing for power as political factions hold talks to form a transitional government after a 2021 military coup.
In the early hours of Sunday, residents reported hearing gunfire and explosions from heavy artillery throughout the night. Al Arabiya television broadcast footage showed thick plumes of smoke in some districts of Khartoum.
“We are scared, we haven’t slept for 24 hours because of the noise and the house shaking. We are worried about running out of water and food, and medicine for my diabetic father,” Huda, a young resident of southern Khartoum told Reuters.
He said, “There is so much misinformation and everyone is lying. We don’t know when it will end, how it will end.”
Tagrid Abdeen, an architect who lives in Khartoum, said the power was out and people were trying to save phone batteries. “We could hear airstrikes, shelling and gunfire,” he said.
Doctors’ unions said it was difficult for medics and the sick to travel to and from hospitals and called on the army and the RSF to provide safe passage.
Sudan’s MTN telecommunications company has blocked internet services on the orders of the government telecommunications regulator, two company executives told Reuters on Sunday.
The weekend’s fighting followed rising tensions over the integration of the RSF into the military. Disagreement over the timetable for this has delayed the signing of an internationally backed agreement with political parties on the transition to democracy.
A prolonged conflict could plunge Sudan into wider conflict as it grapples with economic misery and tribal violence, derailing efforts to build up to elections.