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.



At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
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At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)

At least 69 people died after a boat headed from West Africa to the Canary Islands capsized off Morocco on Dec. 19, Malian authorities said, as data showed deaths of migrants attempting to reach Spain surged to an all-time high in 2024.

The makeshift boat was carrying around 80 people when it capsized. Only 11 survived, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement on Thursday, after collecting information to reconstruct the incident.

A crisis unit has been set up to monitor the situation, it added, Reuters reported. The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach mainland Spain, has seen a surge this year, with 41,425 arrivals in January-November already exceeding last year's record 39,910.

Years of conflict in the Sahel region that includes Mali, unemployment and the impact of climate change on farming communities are among the reasons why people attempt the crossing.

One person died among 300 people who arrived on six boats on Friday on the island of El Hierro in the Canaries, according to the Red Cross.

The Atlantic route, which includes departure points in Senegal and Gambia, Mauritania and Morocco, is the world's deadliest, according to migrant aid group Walking Borders.

In its annual report released this week, the group said 9,757 migrants died at sea in 2024 trying to reach the Spanish archipelago from Africa's Atlantic coast. A record 10,457 people - or nearly 30 people a day - died attempting to reach Spain this year from all routes, according to the report.

The route departing from Mauritania, which has been particularly well used this year by migrants leaving the Sahel region, was the deadliest, accounting for 6,829 deaths.