ANKARA

Türkiye on Sunday urged its citizens in Sudan to stay indoors amid fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a Twitter post, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Sudan’s airspace remains closed and the situation in the country is not suitable for travel “at the moment.”

“We are closely following developments in Sudan,” the ministry said and advised Turkish citizens to contact the Turkish Embassy in Khartoum in case of emergency and to follow social media accounts of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

The ministry also shared the phone numbers of the embassy and consular call center.

At least 56 people have been killed and hundreds injured in armed clashes since Saturday between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

While the RSF accused the army of attacking its forces south of Khartoum with light and heavy weapons, the military said the paramilitary force was "spreading lies" and declared it a "rebel" group.

The dispute between the two sides came to the surface on Thursday when the army said recent movements by the RSF had happened without coordination and were illegal, with their rift centering around a proposed transition to civilian rule.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency, in a move decried by political forces as a “coup”.

Sudan’s transitional period which started in August 2019 was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.