Communication cuts, disease outbreak in Sudan as fighting rages

“Violent clashes” shook the capital, witnesses told AFP over the phone

War-torn Sudan's capital experienced a communications blackout for several hours on Friday, residents said, as the army and paramilitary forces waged intense battles across Khartoum and humanitarian groups warned of worsening crises.

"Violent clashes" shook the capital, witnesses told AFP over the phone, after residents woke up to an outage of vital internet and mobile phone connections.

The source of the malfunction was not clear, though mobile and internet networks were restored by the afternoon.

Throughout the day, columns of black smoke were seen rising near army headquarters in the centre of Khartoum as well as in the city's south.

Witnesses in Khartoum North said there were "clashes using all kinds of weapons". In Omdurman, just across the Nile river, witnesses reported fighter jets and drones flying overhead.

Since April 15, the forces army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan have been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people across Sudan, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, with the worst fighting taking place in Khartoum and the western Darfur region.