Head of RSF calls for international action against rival

Head of the paramilitary RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, said the international community must take action and intervene against "the crimes of Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al Burhan".

"His army is waging a brutal campaign against innocent people, bombing them with MiGs," Hemeti wrote on Twitter.

In 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan's governing Sovereign Council, and his deputy Hemeti led a coup that halted the country's transition to democracy.

Burhan and Hemeti had maintained an uneasy alliance since, but the power struggle between the military rivals has escalated over the past few months, reaching a boiling point last week. 

The integration of the RSF into the military has become a chief dispute between the two leaders, who are vying for control of Sudan.

Burhan is favoured by Egypt and by figures who held power under ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir. 

Meanwhile, Hemeti, who was once head of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Darfur, where he controls gold mines, has influential supporters in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.