What’s happening in Sudan?
Fighting has erupted in Sudan as the army and paramilitary forces clashed, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands injured.
They were the first clashes between the forces since they formed an alliance in 2019 and rose out of a long-running tussle for power.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken is among those around the world who have urged a ceasefire after a US convoy came under fire.
Both sides have offered truces in previous days, but the fighting has not stopped.
Here is what you need to know about the conflict.
Who are the main players?
On one side you’ve got Sudan’s army, headed by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan.
He has been the country’s de facto president since a military coup in October 2021.
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What’s going on in Sudan?
On the other is paramilitary group the RSF, the partner-turned-rival of the military.
The RSF is led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti. He is the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council.
The two sides came together to oust former leader Omar al Bashir in 2019 but there have been long-running disagreements over how the country should be run.
Since the clashes started, both sides have claimed to be in control of strategic locations, including the presidential palace, airports and air bases.
Speaking to Sky News, General Burhan said he was open to negotiations as the fighting continues.
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Sudan army chief open to negotiations
“If negotiations will restore the country and are fair then it’s possible,” he added.
The RSF also issued a statement saying it was waging a continuing battle to restore “the rights of our people”.
However, the fighting has continued.
Why has violence erupted now?
The recent violence erupted out of tensions over the transition from military to civilian rule.
Things escalated in the days before as RSF troops were deployed around the country.
In a rare statement, the army said the mobilisation represented a “clear violation of law”.
Central to the tension was a disagreement between the army and the paramilitary over how and when the RSF should be integrated into the military.
The army wanted the transition to happen within two years while the RSF said it would take 10 years.
The merger was a key condition of a framework deal agreed in December that would have seen power shifted to civilians.
The agreement was supposed to be signed on 1 April, but it was delayed because of failed talks.
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Civilians among 56 killed during heavy fighting in Sudan
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‘Tension had been boiling’ in Sudan
Where is the fighting happening?
The fighting began at a military base south of the capital Khartoum, with both sides accusing the other of initiating attacks.
Clashes then spread across the city, including around the military’s headquarters, the airport and the presidential palace.
Witnesses have reported gunfire in many parts of the country, including heavy exchanges of gunfire in the northern city of Merowe and clashes in the Darfur cities of El Fasher and Nyala.
Several countries, including the UK, have extracted their diplomats but many civilians with foreign or dual citizenship say they cannot escape the fighting.
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UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the outbreak of fighting and appealed to both leaders to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm and begin a dialogue to resolve the crisis.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) says there have been three attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan since the outbreak of fighting.
The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) has warned that continued disruption to the healthcare system could result in its collapse and that providing aid around the Sudanese capital was “almost impossible”.
Who are the RSF?
The RSF is made up of about 100,000 troops and evolved from so-called janjaweed militias that fought in the Darfur conflict in the 2000s.
The RSF has long been accused of atrocities linked to the Darfur conflict.
In 2017, a law legitimising the RSF as an independent security force was passed.
Smoke is seen rising from planes in Khartoum’s international airport amid violent fighting
Transition to democracy
Former president Omar al Bashir was ousted in 2019 following months of protests against his three-decade authoritarian rule.
He was convicted of corruption and money laundering and accused by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and genocide, linked to the bloody conflict in Darfur.
A joint military-civilian government was established after he was toppled but that was overthrown in the 2021 coup.
The coup put the army back in charge, but it faced weekly demonstrations, renewed isolation and deepening economic woes.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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