Khartoum's fearful residents hunker down amid fierce street fighting

A general view shows a cloud of smoke in Khartoum, Sudan, April 18, 2023 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Twitter @ayman_amin_/via REUTERS

KHARTOUM/CAIRO (Reuters) - Residents in an affluent district of Khartoum feared there would be trouble when they found their new neighbour was a commander from a paramilitary force that protesters blamed for cracking down on them in the past.

Those concerns proved well-founded this week when people were forced to hunker down in their homes as gunfire, shelling and airstrikes raged across the city in a fierce fight for power between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).