Ruling council in conflict-hit Sudan declares RSF 'rebels', orders its dissolution

Sudan's ruling military council has declared the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a rebellious group, ordering it be dissolved as deadly battles continue unabated between the two sides in the crisis-hit African country.

The announcement came through a Monday statement by the council, which is headed by Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, declaring dissolution of the RSF, which is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

According to Press TV, the development came as both sides claimed to have made gains in a violent, nationwide power struggle, which has so far claimed the lives of over 100 and injured hundreds of others, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.

According to witnesses, airstrikes by warplanes rocked capital Khartoum earlier in the day, including in the vicinity of the military headquarters, and also in Bahri, just across the Nile River near another base.

Columns of smoke also rose from the runway of the Khartoum International Airport, where blasts and raging fires were visible on television images.

The army also regained control of the main television station, which for a short time went off air after gunfire was heard during a live broadcast. The station began broadcasting videos showing the army destroying RSF vehicles.

Fierce clashes erupted between the army and the RSF in Khartoum and elsewhere across the country on Saturday, in an apparent struggle for control.

The RSF later said its fighters had wrested control of several key sites, including the presidential palace, the residence of Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Khartoum International Airport.

The Sudanese army rejected all RSF's claims, saying it is fighting back at sites the paramilitaries said they had taken.

The RSF is a former militia that was due to merge with the army and whose leaders shared power in a ruling military council. Its current leader, Hemedti, has played a prominent role in the country's turbulent politics for 10 years, helping topple former President, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019 and later quashing protests by Sudanese seeking democracy.

ME