FILE PHOTO: Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stands at the podium during a ceremony to sign the framework agreement between military rulers and civilian powers in Khartoum, Sudan December 5, 2022. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
The combative capabilities of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been reduced by 45-55 percent, said the Sudanese army on Monday.
The army said RSF had mobilized huge forces equipped with armed gear in the capital Khartoum as of April 15, according to an official statement. The army estimated RSF forces to have amounted to 27,135 fighters, 39,490 recruits, 1,950 combat vehicles, 104 armored personnel carriers, and 171 vehicles equipped with machine guns.
The army said that during the past 16 days of fighting, it has managed to cut down the combative capabilities of the RSF by half approximately.
The hostilities erupted on April 15 between Sudan’s army under the leadership of chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the leadership of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Hundreds of people have been killed, thousands injured, and scores fled the country since the eruption of fighting between the two rival military factions in Sudan.
The United Nations reported on Monday that the conflict has killed more than 528 people and injured over 4,599.
The UN also reported that 73,000 people have already left Sudan, warning that it was preparing for approximately 815,000 people to flee due to the crisis which has exacerbated dire humanitarian conditions in the poor African country.