Dilling, South Kordofan: Calls for air bridge on second day of deadly drone strikes

At least five people were killed and dozens injured in an aerial bombardment by drones on the town of Dilling in South Kordofan on Tuesday. As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, drone attacks attributable to both sides in the Sudan conflict have wreaked death and injury among civilians in South Kordofan, including women and children, as intensified fighting in has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

Relatives of one of the victims told Radio Dabanga that the town was bombed by drones for the second day in a row, following the army’s announcement that it had lifted the siege. The sources explained that today’s bombing targeted the forested area south of the Dilling market, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries.

She added that the injured were transferred to the large Dilling Hospital for treatment, amid complex health and humanitarian conditions in the town.

On Monday, the armed forces were able to break the siege of the town of Dilling after they took control of the Habila area and sent military reinforcements to the region.

Air bridge

The Sudanese Doctors Network appealed to international and regional organizations, United Nations agencies, and all humanitarian bodies to intervene urgently to establish an immediate humanitarian air bridge to supply Dilling, which recently emerged from a siege that lasted for more than two years and left extremely dangerous humanitarian and health conditions.

Doctors’ Network spokesman Mohamed Faisal told Radio Dabanga that the town is suffering from a severe shortage of medical personnel and a severe lack of medical and food supplies, in addition to a worrying deterioration in the general health situation, which has resulted in a significant increase in cases of malnutrition, especially among children, pregnant women and the elderly.

He added that the field network’s statistics indicate that more than 1,300 cases of malnutrition have been recorded in various categories, the majority of whom are children, which portends serious health repercussions that may lead to permanent complications or loss of life, if immediate intervention is not undertaken.

Faisal believed that dispatching urgent humanitarian convoys was an absolute necessity to ensure the arrival of food, medicine and medical supplies, and to strengthen health facilities with the necessary personnel without delay.

The official spokesperson also reiterated the demands of the Sudanese Doctors Network to stop targeting medical facilities, to keep the health sector neutral in the conflict, and to ensure the protection of civilians and medical workers.