Sudan's army has said in a statement quoted by Reuters news agency that it still controls all bases and airports in the country.

Earlier, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had taken control of the airport in the capital, Khartoum.

The army also said it was currently confronting "the enemy's" attempts to take over strategic sites across Khartoum, and that the Sudanese air force was conducting operations to confront the RSF.

Sudan's civilian parties who have signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF earlier called on both sides to cease hostilities, Reuters reports.

They also called on international and regional players to urgently help stop the bloodshed.

We're hearing conflicting accounts from the two sides about who controls key areas of Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group says it has taken over the presidential palace and the international airport, but that claim has not been verified.

The RSF also claims to have captured Sudanese army soldiers and seized some areas in other states in the country.

For its part, the military says it still controls all bases and airports.

It adds that the air force is conducting operations to confront the RSF.

Footage from local broadcasters has shown a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum, but this too has not been independently confirmed.

The two factions also disagree over who began the conflict.

Earlier, the RSF accused the army of initiating the fighting by attacking its headquarters in Khartoum and besieging the RSF troops stationed there.

But the Sudanese military said the RSF started the clashes by attacking the General Command in Khartoum in order to take it over.

Russia's embassy in Sudan is concerned by the "escalation of violence" and is calling for a ceasefire and negotiations, the state-owned Russian news agency RIA has reported.

The embassy said the atmosphere in Khartoum was tense, but its diplomats were safe. It urged Russians in Sudan to stay at home and remain calm.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said the situation in Khartoum was "fragile", according to reports from Reuters.

Blinken, who is currently on his first official trip to Vietnam, said there might be other actors pushing against the progress that has been made in Sudan towards forming a civilian government.

The US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, says in a tweet, external that the escalation of tensions "within the military component" is "extremely dangerous" and called urgently on the senior leadership of the two sides to stop the clashes.

He added that he and embassy staff were sheltering in place.

Tensions have been running high since last weekpublished at 11:06 British Summer Time 15 April 2023

11:06 BST 15 April 2023

Emmanuel Igunza
Reporting from Nairobi

On Saturday, residents of central Khartoum were shaken by the sound of gunfire as clashes erupted between army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

It’s not yet clear what triggered the fighting, but tensions have been high in Sudan following a stand-off between the two factions.

On Thursday, the RSF - commanded by Sudan’s deputy leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - deployed forces near a military base in the northern town of Merowe.

Sudan’s leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has said he’s willing to talk to his second-in-command and resolve the dispute over who will lead a unified army in a proposed civilian government.

Western powers and regional leaders have urged the two sides to de-escalate and return to talks aimed at returning the country to civilian rule.

Sudan has been in political turmoil since Gen Burhan led the military in toppling a civilian government in October 2021.

Sudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence.

The government of Sudan gave its blessing to an independent South Sudan, where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north.

However, various outstanding issues - especially the question of shared oil revenues and border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between the two successor states.

Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.

• You can find our country profile of Sudan here

Image source, Reuters

Generals have been running the north-east African country of Sudan through what is called the Sovereign Council since a coup in October 2021.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is under the command of the council's vice-president, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The army, meanwhile, is led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the head of the Sovereign Council.

A proposed move to a civilian-led government has floundered on a timetable to integrate the RSF into the national army.

The RSF wanted to delay the move for 10 years, but the army said it should happen in two.

You can find out more about Sudan's attempts to revert to civilian-led government here.

Alexandra Fouché
Live reporter

We're bringing you live coverage this Saturday of events in Sudan where gunfire and explosions have been heard in the capital, Khartoum, following days of tension between a notorious paramilitary force and the army.

The dispute centres around a proposed transition to civilian rule.

Reuters is reporting that gunfire has been heard close to the headquarters of the army in the centre of the city while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has taken control of the airport.

Earlier, the RSF said that one of its camps in the south of Khartoum had been attacked.

For its part, the army has said that RSF fighters are trying to seize the military headquarters.

Fighting has also been reported in the northern city of Merowe.

You can read our developing news story here.