Sudan: Al Burhan and Dagalo are contending for power, tough clashes are underway in Khartoum

The showdown between the president of the Supreme Transitional Council, Abdul Fattah al Burhan, and his deputy continues and intensifies in Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and linked to the private Russian group Wagner. In these hours the situation in Khartoum still appears uncertain and fluid. The RSF claim to have taken control of the presidential palace and the airports of the capital, Merowe (in the north of the country) and El Obeid (in the east). Dagalo appeared on the satellite broadcaster "Al Jazeera", where he called Al Burhan "a criminal" and accused him of having triggered the crisis through an assault conducted this morning by the regular army against one of the RSF outposts south of Khartoum. The number two of the Supreme Transitional Council added that his forces will continue their action until Al Burhan is brought to justice. Dagalo also said he was acting on behalf of the people and appealed to regular army officers to join the battle, which "will be decided in the next few days".

He also intervened on "Al Jazeera" itself Al Burhan, who instead reported that all the strategic civilian and military structures of the country are "under control" except for the international airport of Khartoum, infiltrated by "a group of rebels" who also allegedly set fire to some planes. "We have good reserves and military bases that have not yet been mobilized: if the state of war continues - warned the general - we will bring our forces into Khartoum from various regions". In the meantime, the air forces have already been mobilised, carrying out several attacks on RSF positions in and around the Sudanese capital. On the ground, however, the situation appears extremely fluid. Local sources report columns of smoke rising from the Presidential Palace area and fierce clashes even inside the state television headquarters. The toll, according to the official union of doctors, is at least three civilians killed: two at Khartoum airport and one in El Obeid.

There is also uncertainty about how many members of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), led by a group of officers, would join the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). No confirmation has for the moment come from the Khartoum army led by the decline of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al Burhan, although the rebels say so on twitter.

Meanwhile, international diplomacies are mobilizing to convince the parties to stop hostilities. Appeals to this effect have come from the US Secretary of State, Antony blinken, the foreign ministries of Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, the Arab League and the United Nations envoy Volker Perthes, who said he was in contact with both sides. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, said he was following developments in conjunction with the Italian ambassador in Khartoum, Michele Tommasi. The situation is tense, he wrote on Twitter, but the Italians are "fine" and are in close contact with the embassy. "Our invitation - he added - is not to abandon one's homes".