Fighting in Sudan’s Capital, South after Generals Briefly Surface

A picture taken from Omdurman shows smoke billowing in the distance in Khartoum North amid ongoing fighting in war-torn Sudan, on July 18, 2023. (AFP)
A picture taken from Omdurman shows smoke billowing in the distance in Khartoum North amid ongoing fighting in war-torn Sudan, on July 18, 2023. (AFP)
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Fighting in Sudan’s Capital, South after Generals Briefly Surface

A picture taken from Omdurman shows smoke billowing in the distance in Khartoum North amid ongoing fighting in war-torn Sudan, on July 18, 2023. (AFP)
A picture taken from Omdurman shows smoke billowing in the distance in Khartoum North amid ongoing fighting in war-torn Sudan, on July 18, 2023. (AFP)

Air strikes, street battles and artillery fire shook Sudan's capital Khartoum and the major southern city of El-Obeid on Thursday, witnesses told AFP.

"Artillery fire targeted paramilitary bases of the Rapid Support Forces," said a resident of El-Obeid, 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of Khartoum.

Fighting between the RSF and the regular army, led by feuding generals, has killed at least 3,000 people and displaced more than 3.3 million since April 15.

Army jets on Thursday were striking paramilitaries, who were responding with anti-aircraft fire, said another El-Obeid resident, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

In Khartoum's south, witnesses reported three air raids in the early morning.

"The blasts were terrifying," one of them told AFP.

The army on Wednesday accused the RSF of targeting a residential area of the capital in a drone strike that left "14 civilians dead and 15 injured".

Residents told AFP at least 13 civilians were killed.

The conflict pits army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

'Victory or martyrdom'

Burhan on Tuesday appeared in rare video footage shortly after an audio recording of Daglo was released.

In the video clip of less than one minute, Burhan, carrying a pistol and an automatic rifle, and donning a T-shirt and cargo pants, is seen in the army headquarters as he greets the army top brass.

The massive complex in central Khartoum has been the site of frequent clashes between the warring sides.

Daglo was last seen in a short video clip the paramilitaries shot in the early days of the conflict that is now in its fourth month.

But he has released several audio recordings since, the latest on Monday evening in which he told Sudanese he was willing to "choose peace" but remained "ready for war".

The combatants loyal to him would fight until "victory or martyrdom", Daglo said.

The RSF chief also mentioned the vast western region of Darfur, which in the early 2000s saw a bloody war and which has been hit by some of the worst violence in the new conflict.

The International Criminal Court has opened a new probe into alleged war crimes in Darfur, its chief prosecutor Karim Khan said last week.

He warned against "allowing history to repeat itself" in Darfur, where 300,000 people were killed in a conflict from 2003 that led the ICC to charge former leader Omar al-Bashir with genocide.



157,000 Sudanese Students Unable to Take Secondary Certificate Exams Over War

Students sitting for exams in Port Sudan Saturday (AFP)
Students sitting for exams in Port Sudan Saturday (AFP)
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157,000 Sudanese Students Unable to Take Secondary Certificate Exams Over War

Students sitting for exams in Port Sudan Saturday (AFP)
Students sitting for exams in Port Sudan Saturday (AFP)

Amid widespread confusion and deep concerns, Sudan’s secondary certificate exams began on Saturday in select parts of the country and abroad. However, approximately 157,000 students from regions under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were unable to sit for the tests, raising fears of an unprecedented educational divide.

According to the Ministry of Education, over 343,000 students—around 70% of the approximately 500,000 registered candidates—are expected to take the postponed 2023 exams. This figure may decrease further due to the loss of thousands of seating numbers and the postponement of exams in South and West Kordofan. Official statistics confirm that 157,000 students were excluded from sitting for their tests due to the ongoing war.

Education has become a significant casualty of the war, which has raged for over 20 months. The government, now operating out of Port Sudan, resolved to conduct the exams in areas under army control, despite RSF objections. The RSF warned that this decision could have dire consequences for thousands of students and exacerbate divisions within the country.

Fears are mounting over potential attacks on exam centers, especially in conflict-ridden areas like Karari in Omdurman, north of Khartoum, where intense artillery shelling has persisted. Similar concerns extend to other regions near the conflict zones.

The Ministry of Education, however, assured that robust security measures have been implemented to protect centers in safer states, including Northern State, River Nile, Gedaref, Kassala, and North Kordofan.

Qareeb Allah Mohamed, the acting Minister of Education in Khartoum State, told Asharq Al-Awsat that seating numbers had been issued to all students wishing to take the exams. He affirmed that all necessary preparations were completed to accommodate candidates in Khartoum and other states.

Sami Al-Baqer, spokesperson for the Independent Teachers’ Union, criticized the decision of the Port Sudan-based government to conduct exams under the current circumstances. He argued that poor organization and timing had effectively denied over 60% of students their right to participate.

He held the government fully responsible for the potential consequences of its decision, stating that these exams pose risks to students, teachers, and the country.

Union statistics indicate that tens of thousands of students across eight states—Darfur, Greater Kordofan, parts of Khartoum, Gezira, and other insecure regions—are unable to sit for the exams.

Students in RSF-controlled areas were not the only ones affected. Authorities in Chad also declined to host exams for approximately 13,000 students from Sudan’s Darfur region, which borders Chad.

Ahmed Khalifa, Sudan’s acting Minister of Education, had previously announced that students unable to sit for these exams would have another opportunity in March, with plans for additional exams to ensure their integration into the same academic cohort.

Since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF in April 2023, education has been entirely disrupted in conflict zones, while classes have resumed in safer areas.

According to UNICEF, the ongoing war has prevented 12 million Sudanese students at all educational levels from continuing their studies.