CAIRO, April 17. /TASS/. The armed conflict between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Response Forces (RFS) is an internal affair that needs to be settled by the Sudanese people, a spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"The current conflict is a domestic affair and needs to be resolved by the Sudanese people," he noted, as cited by the Al Hadath TV channel.

The diplomat added that all the mediation efforts and attempts to persuade RFS troops to join the country’s armed forces had so far been unsuccessful. According to him, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereignty Council and army chief, has decided to dissolve the Rapid Response Forces and declare them rebels.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that all the necessary measures had been taken to protect foreign missions as well as the offices of international organizations in Khartoum. He added that Sudan highly appreciated the mediation efforts at the African, Arab and international levels, reiterating the need to leave the issue to the Sudanese people to resolve.

The situation in Sudan has escalated because of disagreements between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the Rapid Reaction Force, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hamidti), who is his deputy in the council. On April 15, clashes broke out between the two groups near a military base in the city of Merowe and in the capital of Khartoum. According to the latest data from the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, about 100 civilians have been killed in the fighting, while the World Health Organization has reported over a thousand casualties.