At least 60 people have been killed in Sudan, as the armed forces battle the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over a proposed transition to civilian rule.

The power struggle started on Saturday with close to 600 injured, according to the Sudanese Doctors’ Union.

The doctors’ union added that dozens of military personnel were part of the dead.

“In total, at least 595 people had been injured”, it added in a statement to BBC.

The fighting was between army units loyal to the de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Sudan’s deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

After several months of tension between the two rival military leaders, Messrs Burhan and Dagalo, the fight over control of power continued on Sunday in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country.

In April, 2019, Mr Burhan overthrew long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir, 18 months later, the military and the RSF staged a second coup upending a transition to democracy.

But on Sunday, the sound of heavy firing could be heard as the military urged people to remain inside their homes as both the schools, banks, and government offices were shut down.

Both the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), claimed they already had control of the airport and other key sites in Khartoum even as the fighting continued.

Also, heavy artillery was heard in Omdurman, which adjoins Khartoum, and nearby Bahri in the early hours today.

Witnesses also reported gunfire in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan while numerous airlines have suspended flights to Khartoum and neighbouring Chad has closed its border with the country.

The witnesses who majorly stay in Khartoum said they are living in panic, as some of them described how the bullets were being fired at the houses next door.

The UK, the US, the EU, China, and Russia have all called for an immediate end to the fighting in Sudan.

Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, spoke to the military leaders, Messers Burhan and Dagalo, calling for an immediate end to violence and a return to dialogue.

A proposed move to a civilian-led government has foundered on the timetable to integrate the RSF into the army.

The RSF wanted to delay it for 10 years but the army said it should happen in two years.

Western powers and regional leaders had urged the two sides to de-escalate tensions and go back to talks aimed at restoring civilian rule.