The GNPOC tower is one of several Khartoum landmarks devoured by flamed on the weekend (Picture: AFP)
An iconic skyscraper in Sudan’s capital is the latest victim of bloody conflict in the country that has now entered its sixth month.
Footage shows huge flames gutting the Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower in Khartoum amid battles between the army and rival forces.
The building’s senior architect lamented the ‘senseless destruction’ of a building that ‘defined the skyline of Khartoum’.
Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tagreed Abdin wrote: ‘This is truly painful’.
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The glass-faced skyscraper, which can be seen from much of the city, is one of several landmarks including the Ministry of Justice which were simultaneously ablaze at certain points on the weekend.
While the cause of the blaze is not yet clear, the two sides have used air strikes and artillery shelling as well as ground offensives to strike each other’s strongholds in the city.
More than five million people have been forced to flee their homes, with many desperately hoping to wait out the fighting outside the main conflict zones.
The fire started in an upper floor early on Sunday (Picture: AFP)
The iconic skyscraper can be seen from across the city (Picture: AFP)
A mother living more than 3km away from the nearest clashes told The Guardian recent clashes had been ‘the most violent since the war began’.
Nawal Mohammed, 44, said the ‘doors and windows shook’ at her home as explosions rang out in the distance.
The Sudan War Monitor said the Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary rebels started attacking the army’s headquarters on Saturday and continued throughout the weekend.
Locals said they heard ‘huge bangs’ as they woke up on Sunday morning, when the army targeted RSF bases.
Thousand of people have died as a result of the fighting, which began six months ago (Picture: AFP)
A local activist group claimed ‘dozens of civilians’ had been killed since Friday as a result of the fighting.
Clashes were also reported in the southern city of El-Obeid.
Around 7,500 people have been killed. More than a million have been forced to flee Sudan altogether, according to the UN.
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