At least 43 civilians were killed by drone airstrikes in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Sunday. Dozens of people have also been injured. International news agencies report this based on information from activists and medical volunteers. Not since the start of the war in Sudan, which broke out about five months ago and has created a humanitarian crisis, have more civilians been killed in a single attack.
The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Hemedti, issued a statement accusing the Sudanese army of the attack. The paramilitaries also did this after previous attacks. The Sudanese army denies responsibility and blames the RSF. It is clear that the RSF controls large parts of Khartoum and the Sudanese army of President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan previously carried out air strikes on the paramilitary army several times. That doesn’t gain them much; the president appears to be on the losing end of the war.
The conflict between the RSF and the army broke out in April and is mainly taking place in and around Khartoum. After General Hemedti became vice president under al-Burdan in 2021, the RSF would become part of the government army. A disagreement about its implementation led to the conflict, which has now cost the lives of hundreds of civilians.
Millions displaced
The war left millions of Sudanese displaced, either within their own country or across the border. The United Nations last week called the war “a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions” and warned that hundreds of thousands of children will die from malnutrition if aid is not provided.
Meanwhile, in the western region of Darfur, ethnic cleansing continues to take place by the RSF, or by Arab militias working with the RSF. The conflict has been going on for years, but recently revived. The struggle in Darfur is between peoples of Arab and African descent. According to the Sudanese NGO the Professional Pharmacists Association, among others, eleven thousand bodies are buried in mass graves in the city of El Geneina.
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