Sudan: Fighting between rival forces hits residential areas

Residents successful Sudan's superior Khartoum person recovered themselves trapped successful a warfare zone. Fighter jets and onslaught helicopters person been flying debased overhead, arsenic weapon battles and bombings shingle the city's streets.

We person combed done dozens of pieces of video footage from the metropolis and spoken to residents to find retired what beingness has been similar arsenic the warring - betwixt Sudan's service and the paramilitary radical the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - has intensified.

The menace to civilians is magnified by the peculiar geography of Khartoum. Key strategical sites which are being targeted, specified arsenic subject buildings, are adjacent to residential areas.

Footage broadcast unrecorded connected a Riyad-based quality transmission this greeting - and verified by the BBC - captured 1 onslaught successful portion of the metropolis wherever the Sudanese subject is based.

The tract of this large detonation is astir 300 metres from the Sudanese Air Force headquarters, and astir 500m from the General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Both are adjacent to the airdrome and a residential area, with respective schools and hospitals nearby.

One pistillate we spoke to who lives adjacent the airdrome said: "While we are ok, the concern is not truthful bully for my aunts and uncles... they spot planes bombing successful beforehand of their house. One of their cars was burnt to a crisp."

Another video which emerged connected societal media shows a infirmary caught up successful the conflict.

It claims to amusement RSF forces occupying portion of the Al Saha infirmary successful Khartoum.

One representation shows a patterned level and brownish marble which we were capable to lucifer with an existing representation from the wrong of this hospital. The uniforms lucifer those worn by the RSF.

We spoke to an eyewitness who says helium was astatine the infirmary erstwhile RSF troops took it implicit astatine astir 11:00 section clip (12:00 BST) connected Monday.

He says helium was successful the intensive attraction portion looking aft his begetter erstwhile determination were large explosions which shook the infirmary building.

"They (the RSF) forced each the patients out. Floors were filled up with RSF fighters and their cars were extracurricular the infirmary doors which made the ambulances precise acrophobic to travel near."

Another residential neighbourhood which has travel nether dense occurrence is Kafouri, to the northbound of Khartoum International Airport.

Some of Khartoum's wealthiest residents unrecorded there, including the household of Sudan's ex-president Omar al-Bashir. It is besides the tract of respective information compounds.

"It sounded similar determination was a thunderstorm," said 1 pistillate arsenic she posted a video from her balcony adjacent the airdrome successful Khartoum astatine the weekend. The sound came from subject helicopters flying debased implicit residential operation blocks.

"We woke up and went extracurricular - determination were combatant jets. It conscionable sounded similar gunshots. There's conscionable a batch of chaos going on. There was fume everywhere."

Khartoum airdrome is sandwiched betwixt dense residential areas.

"I tin spot from my residence fume coming retired from immoderate buildings," 1 antheral who lives adjacent by told us. "I tin perceive blasts, bombs, I tin spot subject planes."

He said a location adjacent wherever helium is staying was deed connected Monday morning.

Satellite imagery from 16 April implicit Khartoum shows fume rising from the airdrome and from immoderate planes connected occurrence connected the runway.

Another outer representation taken the adjacent time shows much of them destroyed connected the runway.

We've counted 19 planes and 1 chopper damaged oregon destroyed astatine Khartoum airport, arsenic good arsenic different six planes elsewhere successful the country.

Key infrastructure has besides been hit, including Kobar Bridge, which is adjacent to the airdrome and connects southbound and northbound Khartoum.

One eyewitness told america that this had chopped disconnected entree to the Universal Hospital Sudan connected the northbound broadside of the bridge.

The man, who visited the infirmary astatine the weekend, told us: "They asked the sick and injured to permission the infirmary astatine 10pm connected Sunday, and the concern was hard outside.

"They tried a batch to bring successful different doctors from different hospitals but cipher tin scope Universal Hospital. Ambulances are refusing to transport the injured and dormant bodies."

There person been reports that respective different hospitals successful the superior person either been damaged oregon evacuated.

Additional reporting by Daniele Palumbo, Joshua Cheetham, Tom Edgington, Richard Irvine-Brown and Mohanad Hashim

Graphics by Erwan Rivault and Kate Gaynor

We are continuing to analyse video retired of Khartoum.