APA-Khartoum (Sudan) With sporadic fighting in and around Khartoum spreading to other parts of Sudan despite talk of a ceasefire, terrified civilians have been fleeing as some for the very first time felt the despairing anguish of war hitting closer to home.
Amid the fluidity of the situation confusion fueled by conflicting reports over who now leads the country has been let on a long leash as fighting rages near the seat of power.
There have been sporadic skirmishes in much of the Sudanese capital since Saturday between soldiers loyal to the military junta led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and personnel of the Rapid Special Forces headed by his deputy and former ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Their bone of contention is over the absorption into the army of the 100-strong RSF force and who should lead it.
There is also the added toxicity generated by not agreeing over the nature and duration of the transition to civilian rule.
Thus the mutual discontent among the two fueding top generals has been uncorked on the streets of the capital Khartoum where RSF fighters have engaged junta loyalists in gunfights that had caused the death of some 300 people including three UN workers.
The fighting continues to trap many who could not leave in time to avoid being caught up in the carnage
Jet fighters belonging to the regular army have pounded RSF positions which are located in densely populated civilian quarters, prompting a mass exodus of terrified residents fleeing to saver grounds outside Khartoum.
Endless lines of petrified civilians could be seen snaking their way out of the battle-scared city enveloped in thick plumes of smoke issuing from the streets where they are forced to mingle with the smouldering wreckage of tanks, amored personnel carriers and other instruments of war, littering whole neighbourhoods.
Images of bloodied civilians hiding in hospitals have also sent shivers down the spine of those compelled to flee, leaving some parts of Khartoum empty of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Fateh Alrhman Alhamdani, writing on social media claimed a missile fell in front of his house and killed one person.
Ahmed Opama also wrote that doctors on Thursday received many cases of gunshot and sharpnel wounds involving civilians in Al-Nou Hospital.
A logistical nightmare is already unfolding in the capital, nearby Omdurman and outlying areas which have bore the brunt of the fighting and a humanitarian crisis as displaced persons barely surviving the onslaughts go in search of the basic necessities.
Many have been risking their lives as they go in search of food and water supply services which five days of relentless carnage has disrupted.
Despite suggestions of a ceasfire, both sides to the conflict have been digging in their heels, leaving residents thinking about the likelihood of a long campaign of slaughter from which they will not be spared.
WN/as/APA