The head of Sudan’s army has told Sky News his troops will “definitely” defeat an attacking paramilitary group, but he is open to negotiations.
At least 97 civilians and 45 soldiers have been killed with a total of 942 injured since the clashes between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted at the weekend, according to activist group the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.
Tensions have escalated since a power pact between the two sides crumbled and the resulting violence has seen members of the public caught in the crossfire, with the fighting spreading from the capital Khartoum to other parts of the country.
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Who is behind the Sudan violence?
Speaking to Sky News, army chief and de facto leader Abdel Fattah al Burhan said he was open to mediation as “every war ends at the negotiation table even if the opponent is defeated”.
He added: “Even if there is surrender, there is still negotiation.”
Asked if his troops will defeat the RSF, Mr al Burhan said: “Definitely. God willing.”
He was speaking from the military headquarters compound in the presidential guesthouse. He said the area within the compound was “fully secure” and “we are well”.
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But he said there were “stray” shells being fired by the RSF who are “escalating” the situation in “nearby commercial and residential areas”.
He added: “We are holding back because we don’t want too many civilian losses in residential areas.”
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Witnesses said bombardments and strikes from fighter jets rocked Khartoum, including near the military headquarters, and in Bahri, across the Nile River near another base.
The United Nations Security Council is set to discuss the Sudan violence on Monday, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the fighting, calling on both sides to stop hostilities and start talking.
“I urge all those with influence over the situation to use it in the cause of peace; to support efforts to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of transition,” he said.
The humanitarian situation in the country was “already precarious” but it is now “catastrophic”, the UN chief added.
The RSF is a former militia group which had been due to merge with the army and its leaders shared power in a ruling military council.
Mr al Burhan heads the council while RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is his deputy. Both sides said they made gains on Monday.
The RSF claimed it had captured an airport and military bases, while the army said it was in control of its headquarters despite what it called “limited clashes” in the area.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr al Burhan claimed his forces have “full control of all RSF bases in the 18 states and all of our airfields”.
“All the airfields of the armed forces are under the control of the armed forces.”
The RSF has posted videos showing its soldiers in Merowe airport, between Khartoum and the border with Egypt, and in a base in a southern district of the capital and in part of a military headquarters in the city centre.
The army has regained control of the main television station, which briefly went off air after gunfire was heard during a live broadcast.
The station started showing videos of the army destroying RSF vehicles, a day after the RSF said it had taken over the building.
Egypt is the most important backer of Sudan’s armed forces, while Hemedti has cultivated links with several foreign powers including the United Arab Emirates and Russia.
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.
All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.
Image: The S&P 500 is set for its worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. File pic: AP
By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.
Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.
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Worst one-day losses since COVID
As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.
It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.
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The latest numbers on tariffs
‘Trust in President Trump’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.
“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”
Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”
He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.
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How is the world reacting to Trump’s tariffs?
Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’
The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.
He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.
Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.
He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”
It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.
Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.
It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”