Fighting in Sudan led to horrendous loss of life: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

New York [US], April 18 (ANI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said fighting in Sudan has led to "horrendous loss of life" and any further escalation could be devastating for the country and the region.
"Fighting in Sudan has already led to horrendous loss of life. Any further escalation could be devastating for the country & the region. Those with influence over the situation must use it to support efforts to end the violence, restore order & return to the path of transition," Guterres tweeted on Tuesday.
The Sudanese paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), recently claimed control of the Presidential Palace, as tensions between rival factions of armed forces escalated into violence, reported CNN.
Witnesses told CNN that heavy fighting had been reported around the Presidential Palace and Army Headquarters in Sudan's capital Khartoum.
The RSF in a statement, also claimed control of airports in Khartoum, Marwa and al-Abaid and subsequently the flights out of the international airport were cancelled.
As of early Monday, 97 civilians have been killed and nearly 600 have been injured in clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to The Washington Post citing the Sudanese Doctors Union.
The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said Monday morning that stray artillery struck a hospital in the southern part of the capital, creating "a state of terror and panic," but patients and staff were unharmed.
Eyewitnesses in the capital city of Khartoum told CNN that fighting intensified after Sunday morning prayers, with loud noises and explosions heard throughout the night. There have also been reports of battles hundreds of miles away in the eastern city of Port Sudan.
The armed forces and the RSF have been competing for power as political factions negotiate on forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup. The tensions stem from a disagreement between the military, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, about how the paramilitary force should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee that process, according to Al Jazeera. (ANI)