A warship docked in Port Sudan to evacuate over 200 Indians. April 25, 2023. | Photo: ANI.

Fresh fighting between two rival factions affiliated with the Sudanese military has escalated to the Red Sea city of Port Sudan for the first time in five months of conflict, according to media reports.

Sudan Armed Force soldiers exchanged fire with members of a tribal militia group that calls itself the Forces of the Eastern Sudan Parties and Movements Alliance, BBC reported early on Tuesday.

The British broadcaster understands that the troops tried to remove checkpoints set up by the group on Monday in the city center.

Port Sudan hosts the country’s only functioning airport, it is also hosting some government officials and UN agencies amid the fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

The port is also vital for the exportation of South Sudan’s crude oil, which is transited in a pipeline through eastern Sudan.

Clashes between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have left thousands of people dead since violence broke out in the capital, Khartoum, in April.