General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo aka Hemeti (left), with the chairman of the Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. © Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via AFP

President Salva Kiir said he is in contact with the leaders of Sudan’s transitional government to restrain their forces and return to negotiating table as fighting rages for the second day.

According to his office, Kiir said the violence is eroding the gains of the Juba Peace Agreement and endangering people’s lives as well as destroying their properties.

“H.E. President Salva Kiir is alarmed and following with deep concerns the fighting that broke out in Khartoum which later spread to other towns in the Sudan,” reads the letter from Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, the Minister of Presidential Affairs.

“This unfortunate situation is eroding the gains of the Juba peace agreement and endangering lives and destroying properties.”

President Kiir said he has been speaking to the Chairperson of the Sudan Sovereign Council General Abdal Fattah Al Burhan and his Deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo urging them to deescalate the situation.

Kiir urged generals Al Burhan and Hemeti to pursue dialogue as a mean of conflict resolution as stipulated in the Juba Peace Agreement.

Fighting enters second day

Fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and the powerful paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces enters the second day in the capital Khartoum.

Loud explosions from artillery shelling and air strikes rocked several parts of the capital as plumes of smoke rise to the sky. At least 56 people have been killed so far according to the Sudanese Doctors Union.

Fighting is also intensifying in the northern city of Merowe and Port Sudan in the east as well as Kassala.

The conflict erupted on Saturday morning after months of tensions between the military, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

The two coup leaders disagreed about how the paramilitary force should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee that process.

Both the Arab League and the African Union as well as global powers, have condemned the violence and called for its end.