FOG BLOG WORLD LOG: BOMBINGS IN SUDAN, MAY LEAD TO CIVIL WAR!

Sudan is at risk of civil war. What's behind the violence? Tension has been building for months between Sudan's army and paramilitary group Fighting has erupted in Sudan's capital Khartoum and at other sites across the country as powerful rival military factions battle for control, increasing the risk of a nationwide civil war.

Tension had been building for months between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which together toppled a civilian government in an October 2021 coup.

The friction was brought to a head by an internationally-backed plan to launch a new transition with civilian parties. A final deal was due to be signed earlier in April, on the fourth anniversary of the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising.

Both the army and the RSF were required to cede power under the plan and two issues proved particularly contentious: one was the timetable for the RSF to be integrated into the regular armed forces, the second was when the army would be formally placed under civilian oversight.

• Sudan is in the middle of a violent power struggle. This paramilitary group is at the centre of it

• Deadly clashes erupt between Sudan's army and paramilitary group, prompting international concern

When fighting broke out on April 15, both sides blamed the other for provoking the violence. The army accused the RSF of illegal mobilization in preceding days and the RSF, as it moved on key strategic sites in Khartoum, said the army had tried to seize full power in a plot with Bashir loyalists.