KHARTOUM
\nSudanese army soldiers and paramilitaries fought for control of a military facility Thursday in Khartoum where a fire raged at an oil and gas facility, witnesses said.
\nThe battles came a day after the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced in a statement they had wrestled \u201cfull control\u201d of the Yarmouk weapons manufacturing and arms depot complex.
\nWitnesses from southern Khartoum said they heard the \u201csound of gunfire and clashes\u201d around the complex, the most important military industrial facility in the country.
\nThe RSF claimed that soldiers had fled the site, leaving behind large quantities of military equipment and vehicles.
\nThe paramilitaries also posted videos online purportedly showing their fighters inside the facility, celebrating. Weapons, including machine guns, and large quantities of ammunition could be seen in the background.
\nSudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict since mid-April, when fighting erupted between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo \u2014 commonly known as Hemeti \u2014 who commands the RSF.
\nViolence has spread across the country, most notably in the western region of Darfur, which is home to around a quarter of Sudan\u2019s population and has never recovered from a devastating two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced.
\nThe fire at the Al-SHajjara oil and gas facility near Yarmouk broke out overnight Wednesday to Thursday, witnesses said.
\nIt was not immediately clear what started the fire but residents said they heard a loud explosion at the facility, where fierce fighting has been underway for the past couple of days.
\nPlumes of smoke still rose from the site on Thursday morning and could be seen from as far as 10 kilometers away.
\nSince fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15, more than 1,800 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
\nNearly two million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the latest UN figures, including 476,000 who have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
\nTalks mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United States broke down, and multiple cease-fires have failed to take hold.
\nLast week, Washington slapped sanctions on the warring generals accusing both sides for the \u201cappalling bloodshed\u201d after the latest truce collapsed and the army pulled out of cease-fire talks altogether.
\nIn October 2012, Sudan accused Israel of being behind a blast at the Yarmouk facility, leading to speculation that Iranian weapons were stored or manufactured there.
\nIsrael at that time refused to comment on Sudan\u2019s accusation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KHARTOUM Sudanese army soldiers and paramilitaries fought for control of a military facility Thursday in Khartoum where a fire raged at an oil and gas facility, witnesses said. The battles came a day after the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced in a statement they had wrestled \u201cfull control\u201d of the Yarmouk weapons manufacturing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-336340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n