Fighter jets bomb Khartoum, no Maltese in Corinthia-run hotel near clashes

Violence between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left hundreds dead in three days of fighting in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

The fighting is between army units loyal to the de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, a notorious paramilitary force commanded by Sudan's deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.

According to Volker Perthes, the UN envoy for Sudan, over 1,800 civilians and fighters have been injured and 185 killed.

Khartoum. Sudan’a military is now using planes. pic.twitter.com/NOssMN5WM3

— Amal Hamdan (@amalhamdanelex) April 15, 2023

The Maltese-owned hotel chain Corinthia currently runs a hotel in Khartoum, located in the city’s commercial district on Nile Road where clashes are taking place. A spokesperson for Corinthia in Malta said there were no Maltese employees in the hotel, and that the hotel chain operates the hotel but does not own the real estate. “We are monitoring the situation as it develops.”

A map locating the site of the Corinthia-run hotel with nearby clashes taking place near the presidential palace

According to the New York Times, an all-out battle for control left a bridge across the Nile River in flames. The Corinthia hotel is at one of the river’s bridgers, where the  focus of the fighting is for control of these connections, which divide the capital. Sudan fell under military rule in 2019, when long-time leader Omar al-Bashir was toppled. Since then, two men have been in charge: the head of the army and his deputy, who is also the head of a paramilitary group called the RSF, but both disagree on how to restore civilian rule to Sudan.

Army air strikes targeted RSF bases, some of which are embedded in residential areas, as well the al-Shab Teaching Hospital in Khartoum and two other hospitals, caused by clashes and “mutual shelling”.

Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti are planning to send their presidents to help mediate in the crisis, with Burhan sayin he is willing to negotiate. The US, EU and UK have called for an immediate end to the fighting.

Beyond the capital, the army says it is in control of eastern parts of the country and the key Red Sea port of Port Sudan. But fighting is continuing in Darfur, where the RSF is strong, and also in Kordofan in the south.

The army says it remains in control of all its bases, including its Khartoum headquarters, where heavy weapons have been used during intense clashes.

Electricity is down in many places and water supplies to homes have been cut, leaving terrified residents no choice but to venture onto Khartoum’s streets in search of drinking water.