Sudan: Five civilians, including four children from same family, killed in RSF shelling

Five civilians, including four children from one family were killed in shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a neighbourhood south of Khartoum, Sudan’s army announced late on Saturday.

The army said the RSF shelled houses in the Rumaila neighbourhood as part of attempts to displace citizens and use their homes as military positions.

The mother of the four slain children was also seriously injured, according to the statement.

The RSF has not responded to the allegations.

Fighting broke out between Sudan’s army and the RSF last April as the two groups jostled for power amid a planned transition to civilian rule.

As many as 580 civilians have been killed in Khartoum alone, according to a Reuters tally, while more than 3 million people have been displaced by the conflict.

On Friday, RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, called for the army leadership to step down in his first on-camera appearance since fighting broke out.

Hemedti said that a change in leadership within 72 hours would re-open the door for negotiations between the two sides.

On Saturday, Sudan's army said in a statement that it would resume negotiations in the Saudi city of Jeddah if mediators were able to persuade the RSF to stick to agreements already made.

In an earlier statement on Thursday, the army said its delegation had returned from Jeddah for consultations, highlighting the RSF's alleged refusal to evacuate civilian homes, public facilities and roads as agreed in May.