Dozens were reported to have died as rival military factions fought for control of the capital. The clashes further dashed hopes of a transition to civilian rule.
Fighting intensified across the capital of Sudan on Sunday, as months of rising tensions between factions of the country’s armed forces suddenly spiraled into an all-out battle, dashing the remaining hopes of a transition to civilian rule.
By Sunday morning, it was unclear who was in control of Sudan, with rival forces claiming they held key military and civilian installations. Residents of the capital hid in their homes through the night as the fighting entered a second day. At least 56 people were dead and almost 600 injured, mostly in Khartoum, and there were reports of battles across the country.
In the Al Almarat neighborhood near Khartoum’s airport, Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem and her family remained huddled in the middle of their home on Sunday morning to avoid any bullets that might come through the windows.
“We don’t know what’s happening,” Ms. Abdelmoniem said by phone as a fighter jet flew by.
“The streets are so quiet. You can’t even hear the sound of stray dogs,” she said. “The only sound is that of bullets, explosions and fighter jets. And the only smell in the air is the stench of gunpowder and ash.”
The chaos was an alarming turn for a nation that only four years ago was an inspiration in Africa and the Arab world. Jubilant protesters, including an instant internet icon, a young woman in a white robe, toppled their widely detested ruler of three decades, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, ushering in hopes for democracy and an end to the country’s grinding isolation.
The revolution faltered 18 months ago when Sudan’s two most powerful generals, who are now fighting each other, united to seize power in a coup. But pro-democracy protesters refused to back down, continuing to lose their lives in demonstrations.
Here are other developments:
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The U.N. Security Council issued a statement on Sunday condemning the violence and urging both sides to restart talks — a rare show of unity itself while the council’s five permanent members are deadlocked over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and said they all agreed on the need for negotiations and an immediate end to the fighting.
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On Saturday, clashes at a military base in the capital, Khartoum, quickly spread to the presidential palace, the international airport and the headquarters of the state broadcaster.
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The battles have come during the holiest days of the holiday of Ramadan, which ends later this week.
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While Sudan, which gained independence in 1956, has had more successful coups than any other African country, none have involved such intensive combat between two wings of the armed forces in the center of the capital.
Farnaz Fassihi and Edward Wong contributed reporting.
