Sudan: Fighting erupts in Khartoum as army and paramilitary force clash

Gunfire and explosions have been heard in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after days of tension between a notorious paramilitary force and the country's army.

The dispute centres around a proposed transition to civilian rule.

Reuters is reporting that gunfire has been heard close to the headquarters of the army in the centre of the city.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has taken control of the airport.

Earlier it had said that one of its camps in the south of Khartoum had been attacked.

For its part, the army has said that RSF fighters are trying to seize the military headquarters.

"Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces attacked several army camps in Khartoum and elsewhere around Sudan," the AFP news agency is quoting army spokesman Brig Gen Nabil Abdallah.

"Clashes are ongoing and the army is carrying out its duty to safeguard the country."

The Reuters news agency is also quoting witnesses as saying that there was gunfire in the northern city of Merowe.

Alarabyia TV is broadcasting pictures of smoke rising from a military camp there, Reuters reports.

Generals have been running the country through what is called the Sovereign Council since a coup in October 2021.

The RSF is under the command of the council's vice-president Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The army, meanwhile, is led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the Sovereign Council.

A proposed move to a civilian-led government has foundered on the timetable to integrate the RSF into the national army.

The RSF wanted to delay it for 10 years, but the army said it should happen in two years.