'I haven't slept, I'm terrified': Sudan capital rocked by fighting

The United Arab Emirates has called on all parties in Sudan to "exercise restraint" and "de-escalate and work towards ending this crisis through dialogue," the state news agency is reporting.

Emirates News Agency (WAM) says the Emirati embassy in Khartoum is following developments in Sudan "with great concern" and has "reaffirmed the UAE’s position on the importance of de-escalation, and working towards finding a peaceful solution to the crisis between the concerned parties".

"Furthermore, the embassy stresses the importance of efforts aimed at supporting the political process and achieving national consensus towards the formation of a government," the agency adds.

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The fighting that has erupted in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country is a direct result of a vicious power struggle within the country's military leadership.

Since a coup in October 2021, Sudan has been run by a council of generals - and there are two military men at the centre of the dispute.

You can read more about their rivalry in our really simple guide to the current fighting.

More now from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who has called for the clashes in Sudan to end "immediately".

In a tweet , he said he was "deeply concerned" about the reports of fighting. He added that US embassy staff in the capital, Khartoum, were all "currently accounted for".

"We urge all actors to stop the violence immediately and avoid further escalations or troop mobilisations and continue talks to resolve outstanding issues," he said from Hanoi in Vietnam, on his way to a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Japan.

We have got a bit more information about the civilian deaths in Khartoum we reported earlier.

The doctors' union which reported the deaths said three civilians had been killed at Khartoum Airport and in the neighbouring North Kordofan state.

In a statement on Facebook it added that at least nine other people were wounded in the clashes.

The statement did not specify how the two people died at the airport, which was the scene of earlier fighting as the regular army and paramilitaries battled for control, the AP news agency reports.

If you're just joining us, here's a recap of what we know about the situation in Sudan:

• Widespread fighting has erupted in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, between two factions of the military
• There has been heavy gunfire and explosions in Khartoum and several other towns involving army units and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - a powerful, paramilitary group
• At least three civilians have been killed in today's clashes, a doctors' trade union says
• RSF claims to be in control of several key sites, including the Republican Palace - the seat of the country's presidency - as well as Khartoum International Airport
• Airlines have halted flights to Sudan and there have been reports that two people were killed when a shell hit a passenger plane
• RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo says his troops will keep on fighting until all army bases are captured
• The army says airstrikes have destroyed at least two RSF bases
• A BBC correspondent in Khartoum has been beaten up by a Sudanese soldier while on the way to his workplace

• Tensions have increased between the government and the paramilitary group in recent days
• It comes after Sudanese groups and the ruling military junta failed to reach an agreement last week over transitioning to a civilian-led government, with one of the key issues holding up the deal being the integration of the RSF with the army

The leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces paramiltary fighters, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has claimed that his troops were forced into a confrontation with the military to foil a coup plot.

In a telephone interview with the al-Jazeera news channel, he said the RSF would continue fighting until all army bases were captured.

He described army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as a criminal and accused the military of carrying out a plot hatched by supporters of Sudan's former authoritarian President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in a coup in 2021.

Gen Dagalo said he was committed to full civilian rule in Sudan and the clashes between the RSF and the military would end very soon. He added that they would lead to a peaceful solution and "handing over criminals to justice".

He said Gen Burhan would either face justice or he would be killed.

We mentioned earlier that aircraft have been turning back rather than landing at Khartoum airport, after reports that two people were killed when a shell hit a passenger plane.

Since then, two airlines have issued statements.

State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines said that one of its Airbus A330 jets "had an accident" at Khartoum before its scheduled departure for Riyadh at 07:30 GMT.

The airline added that it was working with the Saudi embassy in Sudan to establish what happened and that flights to and from Khartoum had been suspended until further notice.

Egyptian national carrier EgyptAir said it was suspending flights to and from Khartoum for 72 hours.

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We've just been hearing from Khartoum resident Duaa Tariq, who lives near the presidential palace. A military plane flew over her building as she spoke to the BBC.

"Oh my God, it's flying over... it's so close," she told BBC World Service's Newshour programme.

Quote Message: I'm sorry I can't talk right now. They're shooting live ammunition at the roof of the house next door and we're just now taking shelter." from Duaa Tariq Khartoum resident

I'm sorry I can't talk right now. They're shooting live ammunition at the roof of the house next door and we're just now taking shelter."

We've also been hearing from Nada Wanni, an independent researcher in the capital, who lives near the airport. Gunshots and explosions could be heard during the interview.

A short while later, Nada was able to resume speaking to describe what she could hear and see.

"We woke up this morning to sounds of artillery, heavy artillery and gunshots in a number of different areas," she says.

"It seemed like heavy artillery as well as gunshots. First of all, you can see the smoke, heavy smoke, and definitely we can hear and it seems that it's really heavy machinery."

As we've been reporting, clashes have erupted between the army and a paramilitary group in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

While it is difficult to get reliable information from on the ground, we have pictures coming out of the capital.

Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesCopyright: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesCopyright: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

AFPCopyright: AFP

International concern is growing over the fighting in Sudan.

The latest figure to speak out is EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell, who has called on all forces involved to "stop the violence immediately".

Quote Message: An escalation will only aggravate the situation. Protection of citizens is a priority." from Joseph Borrell High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs

An escalation will only aggravate the situation. Protection of citizens is a priority."

He also said in a tweet that all EU staff in the country were safe and accounted for.

BBC News Arabic's correspondent in Khartoum, Mohamed Osman, has been beaten up by a Sudanese soldier.

The army had stopped his car in the city of Omdurman, central Sudan, while he was on his way to his workplace in nearby Khartoum.

The soldiers drove his car and took him to the army staff headquarters in Omdurman.

While explaining to one of the officers the reasons for driving in the streets, that he intended to go to his workplace in Khartoum and that he was a BBC correspondent in Sudan, one of the soldiers hit him on the head from behind.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry has just released a statement saying it is "deeply concerned" about the escalation of violence in Khartoum.

Its statement calls for those involved to choose dialogue over conflict, Reuters news agency reports.

I've been speaking to Arek who is based in Nairobi, though her family is in Khartoum. She said her sister told her that “shooting is still ongoing and people are staying indoors - there is so much panic and fear”.

Her sister said that when clashes started, many people were surprised - many were in transit or on public transport and got stuck; all bridges and roads in the city have been closed and many schools have gone into lockdown.

It’s also difficult to determine how many people have been injured so far, she said.

Clashes are taking place in and around several locations in the centre of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

According to the army, the conflict began when Rapid Support Forces paramilitary fighters attacked its General Command, although the RSF says it was attacked first.

The RSF has claimed to be in control of the Republican Palace, the seat of the country's presidency, as well as Khartoum International Airport.

However, the military says it still controls all bases and airports.

Fighting has now spread to the headquarters of Sudan's state TV, according to a presenter who briefly appeared on screen.

Gunshots could be heard in the background while he was on air, said Reuters news agency.

Military planes have been seen over the Sudanese capital after clashes between armed groups.

It is thought they belong to the Sudanese Air Force and have reportedly been attacking targets connected to the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces.

It's been reported that two people were killed when a shell hit a passenger plane at Khartoum airport.

Commercial aircraft have been returning to their countries of origin rather than attempting to land in the Sudanese capital, with flights from Saudi Arabia turning around at the last minute, according to tracking data.

The notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been at the centre of this dispute, which is over the move towards civlian rule.

Headed by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - in effect the country's deputy leader - it has been accused of human rights abuses. These include the June 2019 killing of at least 120 protesters at a sit-in demonstration at Army headquarters.

The RSF was formed in 2013 predominantly with fighters from the notorious Janjaweed militia that brutally fought off rebels in Darfur.

In 2015, some 40,000 of its members joined the Saudi-led military intervention in the war in Yemen.

RSF fighters have also been sent to Libya.

In order to facilitate a proposed transition to civilian rule, there was a plan to start integrating the RSF into the army.

But a dispute between Gen Dagolo and the head of the Army, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, over the timetable for the change and who would head the new integrated force has held things up.

Those tensions spilled over into the fighting which broke out this morning.