Pakistanis in Khartoum: FO says closely monitoring situation in Sudan

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday said it was closely monitoring the security situation in Sudan and Pakistani mission was in contact with Pakistanis living in Khartoum, ARY News reported.

In a statement, the Foreign Office Spokesperson said, “We are closely monitoring the security situation in Sudan. There are around a thousand Pakistanis in Khartoum. Our Mission is in contact with them to ensure their safety.”

Earlier in the day, Sudan’s paramilitaries said they were in control of several key sites following fighting with the regular army, including the presidential palace in central Khartoum.

In a statement, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had taken “full control” of the presidential palace as well as the airports in Khartoum and Merowe in the north of the country.

It said the moves came in response to attacks by the regular army on RSF bases in south Khartoum.

Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Saturday as paramilitaries and the regular army traded attacks on each other’s bases, days after the army warned the country was at a “dangerous” turning point.

The eruption of violence came after weeks of deepening tensions between military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, over the planned integration of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army.

Witnesses reported “confrontations” and loud explosions and gunfire near an RSF base in south Khartoum.

The RSF said its forces had taken control of Khartoum airport, after witnesses reported seeing truckloads of fighters entering the airport compound.