Sudan: 22 civilians killed by the army, the UN condemns
Sudan: 22 civilians killed by the army, the UN condemns
An airstrike by the Sudanese army on the city of Omdurman, in the west of the country, left nearly 22 dead, which was strongly condemned by the Secretary General of the United Nations. According to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, the attack took place on Saturday July 8, leaving at least 22 people dead and dozens injured. The Sudanese army, which has been fighting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for 12 weeks, claimed in a Facebook post that its special forces had killed 20 "rebel soldiers" and destroyed their weaponry.
Hours later, Farhan Haq, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general, issued a statement saying Antonio Guterres had condemned the airstrike, adding that he was appalled by reports of massive violence and casualties in the Darfur region. “He is also concerned about reports of renewed fighting in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. "There is a total disregard for humanitarian laws and human rights which is dangerous and disturbing", adds the text. He reiterated the UN's call on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to cease fighting and commit to a lasting cessation of hostilities.
The head of the Sudanese army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the paramilitaries of the RSF, have been in a struggle for power since April 15. More than 1,100 Sudanese have been killed in the fighting, which has erupted in the capital in addition to the Kordofan and Darfur regions. The civil war has led to ethnic violence in West Darfur state. More than 2.9 million people have also been displaced by the war, including nearly 700,000 who have fled to neighboring countries. In recent days, fighting has centered on Omdurman as the western part of the city is used by RSF paramilitaries as a key supply route to bring in reinforcements from Darfur, which is its main power base. So far, most mediation efforts have largely failed and a few instances of temporary humanitarian ceasefires have been violated by warring factions.
