Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they have taken control of the presidential palace, the residence of the army chief and Khartoum international airport on Saturday in an apparent coup attempt.

The RSF, which accused the army of attacking it first, also said they had seized the airports in the northern city of Merowe and in El-Obeid in the west.

The Sudanese air force is conducting operations against the RSF, the army said. Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft with unidentifiable material in the sky above Khartoum

The army said the RSF had tried to attack its troops in several positions after witnesses reported heavy gunfire in multiple parts of the country, raising fears of a full-blown conflict.

Gunfire could be heard in several parts of Khartoum and eyewitnesses reported shooting in adjoining cities.

Doctors said clashes had taken place in residential neighbourhoods and civilians had been injured. Analysts say the RSF is 100,000 strong and that its forces were attacked first by the army.

The RSF called the army’s actions a “brute assault” which should be condemned. It said the RSF had informed local and international mediators of developments.

Earlier, the RSF, headed by former militia leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, said the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons.

A prolonged confrontation between the RSF and the army could significantly worsen the security situation across a vast country already dealing with economic breakdown and flare-ups of tribal violence.

Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF called on them to cease hostilities. Separately, the Russian and U.S. embassies also called for an end to the violence.

The hostilities followed days of tension between the army and the RSF, which could undermine long-running efforts to return Sudan to civilian rule after power struggles and military coups.

Hemedti, once one of the most feared militia leaders in Darfur, had put himself at the forefront of a planned transition towards democracy, unsettling fellow military rulers and triggering a mobilisation of troops in the capital Khartoum.

The rift between the forces came to the surface on Thursday when the army said that recent movements, particularly in Merowe, by the RSF were illegal.

The RSF said in a statement actions by the leadership of the armed forces and “some officers” were an attack on its forces and intended to create instability.

The RSF, which together with the army overthrew long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019, began redeploying units in Khartoum and elsewhere amid talks last month on its integration into the military under a transition plan that would lead to new elections.

Hemedti has been deputy leader of the ruling Sovereign Council headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan since 2019.

______________________________________________________________ LAWBREED NEW WIG SPECIAL OFFER — Give a newly called lawyer a lasting professional gift. Get up to 20% off selected LAWBREED Supreme Court Reports, plus access to My S.C Extra, featuring Supreme Court judgments from 1972 to date. Call/WhatsApp: 08077011741 | 08077011755 | 08077011730 | 08023269613 Email: orders@lawbreed.com | mails@lawbreed.com LAWBREED — Equipping You For Greater Success! _______________________________________________________________________

“Order Justice Omolaye-Ajileye’s Electronic Evidence Books Now” — Essential Guides On Evidence Act, Case Law And Digital Proof

Two leading books on electronic evidence by Hon. Justice Professor Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, Rtd., PhD, FICMC, are now available for purchase. The publications, Electronic Evidence (Second Edition), With The Evidence Act, 2011 and Compendium Of Cases On Electronic Evidence, Volume II, 2020–2025, provide practical guidance, legal analysis and recent judicial authorities on electronic evidence in Nigeria.Order directly from the author here: https://velvety-cendol-7387ed.netlify.app/ ______________________________________________________________________ Groundbreaking Guide For Lawyers: Adigwe Publishes ‘Artificial Intelligence For Lawyers’ With Free Research eBook The book also examines Nigeria's legal ecosystem, focusing on the LPELR and NBA AI Guidelines. As a bonus, every purchase comes with a FREE eBook titled: How to Use the AI Features in LegalPedia and LawPavilion. Ohio Books Ltd praises the publication, stating: "....this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic." How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626 Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria. ______________________________________________________________________ [A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
“Evidence Act: Complete Annotation” by renowned legal experts Sanni & Etti.
Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation ________________________________________________________________________ “Enhance Legal Practice With Authoritative Reports” — Alexander Payne Offers Comprehensive Law Reports, Spanning Over A Century Of Nigerian Jurisprudence

Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via: 0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888 Website: www.alexandernigeria.com

_______________________________________________________________________