Due to armed skirmishes at Khartoum Airport and other locations, two UAE-based airlines, Flydubai and Emirates, have extended their flight suspension to Sudan until April 25.

Following a worrying development in Sudan, when a paramilitary militia, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), took control of Khartoum International Airport (KRT), leading to armed skirmishes with the Sudanese Army, these airlines have announced a suspension from 15 to 17 April.

Air Arabia, however, has previously announced that all of its flights would be halted until further notice.

Sudan Unrest

According to eyewitnesses, the Sudanese army appeared to be winning the bloody power battle against a rival paramilitary group on Sunday by attacking their bases with airstrikes.

Sudanese medical services report that since the start of the fighting, 365 people have been injured, including 365 fatalities among civilians.

Violence broke out on Saturday between the RSF under the command of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a Deputy Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council and elements of the Sudanese army loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Since the two organisations teamed up to overthrow former autocratic leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019, this is the first instance of such antagonism. The conflict emerged over the RSF’s incorporation into the military as a step towards the transition to civilian authority.