Sudan: Tensions Rise as Military Confrontation Looms

An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)
An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)
TT
20

Sudan: Tensions Rise as Military Confrontation Looms

An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)
An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)

Tensions between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have peaked, with both sides resorting to military mobilization and counter-mobilization.

International, regional, and domestic mediators from civil and armed factions have rushed to take urgent action to halt the mutual escalation and calm the situation before it worsens.

The dispute arose on Wednesday after the RSF, an elite paramilitary force, deployed troops in the city of Meroe, north of Khartoum.

However, the army intercepted these forces and prevented them from advancing from around the international airport of the city.

Local sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the situation in Meroe remained tense until Thursday evening.

Both parties remain in a state of extreme readiness in their positions, sources added.

Reports from military sources indicated that the army gave the RSF a 24-hour deadline, which ended on Thursday, to withdraw immediately from the city.

Despite the army’s deadline, RSF units are still stationed in their positions, sources revealed.

Social media activists reported that RSF armored and military vehicles, led by the deputy chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemetti), had arrived from Darfur and were bound for military sites and headquarters in the center of the capital, Khartoum.

The military movements by the army and RSF have raised concerns and serious worries among citizens about the country being dragged into a civil war.

A convoy of vehicles belonging to the RSF, which included armored trucks, was spotted entering Khartoum and roaming its streets.

Rising tensions led the US embassy in Khartoum to issue a warning to its citizens against traveling to the northern state and adjacent areas.

“Due to the increased presence of security forces, American citizens are advised to avoid travel to Karima, Northern Sudan, and surrounding areas,” said a statement released by the US embassy.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
TT
20

Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.