By Agencies
The dispute centres around a proposed transition to civilian rule.
Columns of smoke emanated from various places in the city and soldiers were deployed on the streets
Reuters is reporting that gunfire has been heard close to the headquarters of the army in the centre of the city.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has taken control of the main airport.
Earlier it had said that one of its camps in the south of Khartoum had been attacked.
For its part, the army has said that RSF fighters are trying to seize the military headquarters.
“Fighters from the Rapid Support Forces attacked several army camps in Khartoum and elsewhere around Sudan,” the AFP news agency is quoting army spokesman Brig Gen Nabil Abdallah.
“Clashes are ongoing and the army is carrying out its duty to safeguard the country.”
The Reuters news agency is also quoting witnesses as saying that there was gunfire in the northern city of Merowe.
Alarabyia TV is broadcasting pictures of smoke rising from a military camp there, Reuters reports.
Generals have been running the country through what is called the Sovereign Council since a coup in October 2021.
The RSF is under the command of the council’s vice-president Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The army, meanwhile, is led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the Sovereign Council.
A proposed move to a civilian-led government has foundered on the timetable to integrate the RSF into the national army.
The RSF wanted to delay it for 10 years, but the army said it should happen in two years.
Sudan’s army on Thursday warned of a risk of confrontation following the mobilization of the powerful paramilitary group, in a sign of growing strains between the rival forces and a potential complication in moves to restore civilian rule.
Western ambassadors from the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe said they were “deeply concerned” by the escalation which they said threatened to derail ongoing talks.
The RSF emerged from militias involved in the conflict in Darfur which broke out 20 years ago and has been accused of human rights abuses.
It operates under its own legal code and chain of command.
The RSF joined with the military to overthrow long-ruling Islamist strongman Omar Hassan al-Bashir in a coup in 2019.
The two forces then carried out another coup in October 2021.
Relations between the military and the RSF have since deteriorated, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally backed agreement with political parties for a two-year, civilian-led transition to free elections.
The army statement advised politicians not to get involved in tensions inflamed by negotiations on the integration of the RSF within the military as part of the new deal.
Dagalo, better known in Sudan as Hemedti, has said he regrets the coup and supports the U.N., Western- and Gulf-backed transition deal to help prevent the resurgence of pro-Bashir Islamists, a concern shared by civilian political parties.
The RSF began redeploying units in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere amid talks last month, military sources told Reuters at the time, prompting the army to go into a state of high alert, particularly around the presidential palace.
The army’s warning on Thursday was spurred by a movement of RSF vehicles near a military airport in the northern city of Merowe reported by local pro-democracy groups.
The RSF said late on Wednesday the repositioning of vehicles was part of its normal duties in coordination with the regular armed forces.
Witnesses told Reuters that they saw a convoy of RSF vehicles including armoured trucks enters Khartoum on Thursday.
Political figures issued statements on Thursday about attempts to mediate between the RSF and the army high command.
Three ex-rebel chiefs now in government posts said they had reached out to army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and Dagalo, his deputy on the council, in an attempt to mediate.
