Airstrike on Sudan Market Causes ‘Horrific Massacre’ – Rights Group

A rights group has condemned an airstrike on a market in Sudan, describing it as a “horrific massacre” that resulted in numerous casualties, raising alarms about the ongoing violence in the region.

Over 100 individuals have lost their lives, and many more have sustained injuries in Sudan following airstrikes that targeted a marketplace in the conflict-ridden Darfur region, as reported by local human rights organizations.

The Al-Fashir Resistance Committee, an activist group, informed Reuters that more than eight barrel bombs struck the market in Kabkabiya, a town in North Darfur, on Monday.

Emergency Lawyers, a human rights NGO located in Khartoum, condemned the assault as a “horrific massacre,” asserting that over 100 individuals were killed and hundreds more were injured, including children.

“This assault on civilians during market day constitutes a blatant violation of international law. We call for an immediate investigation into this atrocity,” the organization stated on X.

Since mid-April 2023, the northeastern African nation has been engulfed in a severe civil war between the national Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), stemming from disputes regarding the transition to civilian governance.

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The conflict, which initially erupted in the capital, has expanded throughout the country, resulting in what the United Nations describes as the largest displacement crisis globally. Recently, the UN reported that vulnerable populations, including 4.7 million children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women, are facing acute malnutrition.

Despite ongoing regional and international initiatives, including peace negotiations facilitated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, hostilities between the SAF and RSF—once allies who ousted the former leader in a 2019 coup—have intensified in recent weeks.

The Sudanese military has allegedly been conducting airstrikes on towns in North Darfur as it seeks to regain control of the state capital, al-Fashir, which is believed to be its final stronghold in the area. However, the military has denied any involvement in the bombings at the Kabkabiya market.

Both parties have consistently leveled accusations against one another regarding the perpetration of war crimes throughout their nearly 20-month-long conflict for power.

Recent reports from local activists in October indicated at least 124 fatalities resulting from a new series of assaults, with allegations directed at paramilitary forces for executing massacres against civilians.

In a statement shared on X, Emergency Lawyers condemned the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for their indiscriminate shelling of Omdurman, a city under army control located just across the River Nile and within Khartoum state.

The organization reported that 14 individuals lost their lives when RSF combatants targeted a passenger bus with heavy artillery on Tuesday. Additionally, a bomb struck a residence, resulting in the deaths of six family members, according to their account. The government of Khartoum state also confirmed that these assaults had caused over 65 fatalities and left numerous others injured.