Sudan's military leader decides to freeze RSF bank accounts

KHARTOUM - Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued a decision to freeze the bank accounts of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group and its affiliated companies, his office said in a statement on Sunday.

Sudan has been mired in turmoil since a military conflict erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April.

Shelling and air strikes pounded parts of Sudan's capital on Sunday with little sign that warring military factions were ready to back down in a month-long conflict that has killed hundreds despite ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia.

Khartoum and the adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman across the Nile's two branches have been the main theatre of conflict along with western Darfur province since the army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary started fighting on April 15.

Shelling struck Bahri and air strikes hit Omdurman early on Sunday, according to a Reuters reporter and witnesses. "There were heavy air strikes near us in Saliha that shook the doors of the house," said Salma Yassin, a teacher in Omdurman.

A resident near Khartoum airport, which has been closed since the start of the conflict, said there had been intermittent fighting throughout the day.

The unrest has killed at least 676 people and injured 5,576, the United Nations said on Sunday, though with many reports of people missing and bodies left unburied, the real toll is expected to be much higher.

About 200,000 have fled into neighbouring countries and more than 700,000 have been displaced inside Sudan, triggering a humanitarian crisis that threatens to draw in outside powers and destabilise the region.