The powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces posted a video statement on Twitter on Tuesday that appeared to show its armed fighters assembled outside the presidential palace in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
Although the fighters claimed in the video to have captured Khartoum, the ongoing fighting in the capital and across Sudan suggested that neither the R.S.F. nor its rival, the Sudanese Army, was in control.
The statement was the latest in a volley of unverified declarations by both sides since the start of the fighting on Saturday. Each day, one side or the other has claimed control of key installations, only to have the claim quickly rejected by its rival.
The video posted on Tuesday morning on the R.S.F.’s main Twitter account showed a group of soldiers in military fatigues, some toting weapons, outside what appears to be the presidential palace, a large compound close to the Nile.
“Today, we are in total control of Khartoum and the presidential palace,” a commander says in the video before being interrupted by a burst of gunfire.
“We are about to have full liberation,” the commander continues as the soldiers behind him pump their weapons enthusiastically. Neither the claims nor the timing of the video could be verified by The New York Times.
The R.S.F. and the army have each claimed, at times, to control the palace, along with international airports, the headquarters of the state broadcaster and various other airfields.
The assertions have been able to circulate widely on social media because the internet, unlike during previous bouts of political unrest in Sudan, has largely remained functioning.
