Sudan's army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were locked on Monday in a fierce battle over control of a key military facility in southern Khartoum, with both sides claiming to have gained the upper hand in the fighting.
The battle over the headquarters of the army's Armoured Corps began on Sunday and continued into Monday, with RSF fighters tenaciously attacking the base. Unconfirmed reports on Monday said that the RSF may have breached the army's line of defence.
The Armoured Corps in the Al Shagarah district is a storied military facility. Most, if not all, of Sudan's post-independence military coups (around a dozen) involved or were led by officers from the Al Shagarah base.
A common anecdote among residents of the Sudanese capital is that only the coup plotters who control the Al Shagarah base have a chance of successfully seizing power.
The base is nestled among densely populated neighbourhoods and stretches all the way to the banks of the White Nile.
Most residents in those areas have already fled their homes, but men found there by RSF fighters were accused of spying for the army and were summarily executed, according to one witness.
“They shot dead about 15 men when they first arrived in the district on Sunday,” resident Ahmed Khalifa told The National.
“The army is now under siege in the part of the Al Shagarah close to the Nile, but they are still putting up a dogged fight. The Rapid Support Forces have breached the parameters of the base and are in control of a large part of it,” said another witness, Mohammed Moussa, who lives near Al Shagarah.
Videos posted online on Monday appear to show RSF fighters inside what looks like a hangar housing armoured vehicles. A voice in one video is heard shouting “we are inside Al Shagarah!” as an RSF fighter walks past a dead body, presumably of an army soldier.
Videos posted earlier showed RSF fighters close to the outside wall of Al Shagarah. Armoured vehicles could be seen in the distance. Several other clips showed dusty streets strewn with the dead bodies of RSF fighters.
There was no immediate comment from the army or the RSF on the fighting over Al Shagarah, but an army statement from Sunday said troops have repelled repeated attacks by the paramilitary on the base, killing and wounding hundreds of RSF fighters.
The fighting over the Al Shagarah base highlights the predicament of the army in its fight against a more agile force whose men have taken positions deep in Khartoum's residential areas since the early days of the fighting. The army has been using heavy artillery and air strikes, but has had little success in dislodging the RSF fighters, who have taken over thousands of homes across the city.
Fighting between the army and the RSF began in mid-April and has since been mainly centred in the Sudanese capital. A spillover into the restive Darfur region saw genocidal attacks by the RSF and allied Arab militias targeting ethnic African communities. The attacks left thousands dead, reviving memories of the civil war that raged in the area in the 2000s and left 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million.
The war in Sudan is essentially a battle for domination between the army, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and his one-time ally and deputy, RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo.
The fighting created a massive humanitarian crisis, with millions trapped in Khartoum, enduring lengthy power and water cuts, scarce medical care and skyrocketing food prices. More than four million people have fled their homes since the war began, with more than one million fleeing to neighbouring nations, mainly Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
On Monday, the army mourned in a statement the death in battle of one of its top officers, Maj-Gen Yasser Fadlallah, commander of the 16th Infantry Division in Nyala, South Darfur. It said he was killed in Nyala on Monday while “carrying out his holy duty to defend the nation.”
The statement gave no more details, but the army and the RSF have been fighting in Nyala in recent days.
Darfur is the birthplace of the RSF's forerunner, the notorious Janjaweed militia that fought on the side of the government in Darfur's civil war and is accused of widespread abuses against civilians there.
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
