The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which accused the army of attacking them first, also said they had taken over the airports in the northern city of Merowe and in El-Obeid in the west. The RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, said its forces were attacked first by the army, saying in a statement earlier on Saturday that the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons. The RSF, which together with the army overthrew Bashir four years ago, began redeploying units in Khartoum and elsewhere amid talks last month on its integration into the military under a transition plan that would lead to new elections