RSF: SAF airstrikes in South Darfur ‘ethnically motivated’

Several of Sudan’s political and civil bodies condemned airstrikes in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, where at least 40 people were killed on Wednesday. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued a statement condemning the shelling, accusing the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of deliberately targeting civilians “on an ethnic basis”.

Residents of Nyala told Radio Dabanga that the strike, carried out by Antonov aircraft, impacted several neighbourhoods and markets, including El Malja Market, El Wehda, El Sad El Ali, and El Matar.

Houses and shops collapsed due to the bombing, and there are concerns about bodies trapped under the rubble, which were yet accounted by late Wednesday. The injured were transported to the Turkish Hospital in Nyala, some in critical condition.

As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, public roads and neighbourhoods in Nyala are littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO) and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the aftermath of the clashes.

Condemnation

The Nyala Elders issued a statement condemning the bombing of El Malja Market and other sites in the city on Wednesday morning. The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) also strongly condemned the aerial bombardments of Nyala’s neighbourhoods on Wednesday and the Qouro Market in Khartoum on Sunday.

Emergency Lawyer Mohamed Salah expressed concern that the attacks on Nyala and areas in Khartoum reflect a “deliberate targeting of civilians in Sudan, which is a clear violation of international humanitarian law”.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) condemned the army’s airstrikes on Nyala neighbourhoods and markets on Wednesday. In a statement yesterday, the RSF characterised these actions as criminal and emphasised that the air raid “did not hit any RSF personnel or locations, which are well-known to the people of Nyala”.

The RSF asserted that “the bombing appeared to be ethnically and regionally motivated. These attacks on civilians with barrel bombs and lethal weapons must be investigated by international, regional, and local human rights organisations and entities responsible for addressing genocide“.