ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Saturday the country’s diplomatic mission in Sudan was “closely monitoring the security situation” in the capital city of Khartoum to ensure the safety of its nationals following a coup attempt by paramilitary forces.
The statement was issued hours after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they had seized the presidential palace, the army chief's residence, and Khartoum international airport after accusing the army of attacking its personnel first.
The statement added that the RSF had also taken over airports in the northern city of Merowe and in El-Obeid in the west.
The Sudanese army also announced it was fighting the RSF at the key strategic sites that had been taken over, though it denied losing control of Merowe airport.
“We are closely monitoring the security situation in Sudan,” the foreign office said in a Twitter post. “There are around a thousand Pakistanis in Khartoum. Our Mission is in contact with them to ensure their safety.”
The RSF accused the army of carrying out a plot by the loyalists of ousted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and attempting a coup itself.
The army, on the other hand, said the RSF had tried to attack its troops at several places after witnesses reported heavy gunfire in several areas of the country, raising fears of a full-blown conflict.
International powers, including the United States, United Nations, European Union, Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, called for an end to hostilities.
Earlier, the RSF, headed by former militia leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, said the army had surrounded one of their bases and opened fire with heavy weapons.
Hemedti’s RSF was formed from militias accused of war crimes in the Darfur conflict. In June 2019, the group was also accused of raiding a Khartoum pro-democracy camp where nearly 130 people lost their lives.
— With additional input from Reuters
