At least 17 people, including five children, were killed in an airstrike on the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Saturday. This is reported by the Ministry of Health on Facebook. It is one of the deadliest attacks since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to Reuters news agency, the airstrike took place in a poor and densely populated area of the city, where most residents cannot afford to flee the violence. The two groups regularly fight their battles in crowded residential areas. It is not yet known who carried out the attack.
Because of its air force, the Sudanese army has the airspace advantage over Khartoum and the neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri, while the RSF is stationed in residential areas. On Friday and Saturday, the army appeared to be stepping up its airstrikes, hitting several residential areas. General Yassir al-Atta on Friday called on Sudanese civilians to stay away from homes where the RSF hangs out, according to Reuters. “Because right now we will attack them anywhere.”
Read also: How Sudan threatens to fall apart into a thousand pieces
‘Caught in a nightmare’
The Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in an armed struggle for power since mid-April. The RSF is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti, the regular forces are led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The violence is not only taking place in the capital; residents of the regions of North Kordofan and western Darfur are also suffering heavily from the fighting.
More than 1,000 people have died in Darfur in two months, according to Reuters. “Darfur is fast becoming a humanitarian disaster,” United Nations (UN) emergency response coordinator Martin Griffiths wrote on Thursday. on Twitter. “People are trapped in a nightmare.”
Traditionally, there has been a struggle between the centers of power in Khartoum and Darfur. Political leaders almost always hail from the Nile Valley surrounding the capital, which residents in other parts, such as Darfur, say has led to the marginalization of ethnic groups in their regions. The leader of the army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is also from the Nile Valley, while General Hemedti of the RSF group is from Darfur.
Peace is far away
The UN and other aid organizations are very concerned about the situation in the country. Healthcare is often difficult to access in places where there is fighting, because hospitals are closed or only partially functioning. Entire neighborhoods have no access to drinking water or electricity. The UN speaks of severe famine, looting and camps for refugees burning down. Sexual violence in the country is also said to have increased.
End of May darling data collective ACLED the number of deaths in two months at more than 1,800. In total, according to the UN, more than two million people have been displaced, the AP news agency reports. Peace in the country does not seem to be in sight, despite many attempts at negotiations and ceasefires, mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United States.