A Sudanese war monitoring organization has accused the army of orchestrating a deadly airstrike on a market in the Darfur region, resulting in hundreds of fatalities. The Emergency Lawyers Group, which tracks human rights violations during Sudan's civil war that began in April 2023, described the bombing of Tur'rah market as a "horrific massacre," with many others reported injured. Footage circulating on social media, some shared by the army's adversary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), shows the market reduced to smoking ruins and victims charred beyond recognition.
Sudanese Army Accused of Mass Casualties in Darfur Market Airstrike
Sudanese Army Accused of Mass Casualties in Darfur Market Airstrike
Human rights groups report hundreds killed in a devastating military airstrike in Darfur, intensifying concerns over the ongoing conflict.
While a military spokesperson refuted claims of deliberately targeting civilians, asserting that only hostile locations were struck, both the Sudanese armed forces and RSF have faced accusations of targeting civilian regions amidst the civil strife. Notably, the RSF has employed drone technology in their operations, while the army often utilizes aerial strikes against RSF strongholds across the area.
Although the BBC has been unable to verify the precise death toll or the date of the airstrike, which reportedly occurred approximately 35 kilometers north of el-Fasher, a local activist group characterized it as the "deadliest single bombing since the onset of the conflict." Civilian casualties from aerial and artillery bombardments have surged in recent months as combat escalates in this brutal civil war, which has displaced roughly 12 million individuals, equivalent to the entire populations of Belgium or Tunisia. Famine has gripped the region, leaving widespread starvation and high levels of acute food insecurity affecting over half of the country, according to the United Nations. Estimates suggest that at least 150,000 individuals have died as a result of the ongoing conflict.
The RSF has denied accusations of committing genocide in Darfur, including the systematic murder of civilians and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of ethnic cleansing. The UN has labeled the crisis in Sudan as its most severe humanitarian disaster.
Although the BBC has been unable to verify the precise death toll or the date of the airstrike, which reportedly occurred approximately 35 kilometers north of el-Fasher, a local activist group characterized it as the "deadliest single bombing since the onset of the conflict." Civilian casualties from aerial and artillery bombardments have surged in recent months as combat escalates in this brutal civil war, which has displaced roughly 12 million individuals, equivalent to the entire populations of Belgium or Tunisia. Famine has gripped the region, leaving widespread starvation and high levels of acute food insecurity affecting over half of the country, according to the United Nations. Estimates suggest that at least 150,000 individuals have died as a result of the ongoing conflict.
The RSF has denied accusations of committing genocide in Darfur, including the systematic murder of civilians and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of ethnic cleansing. The UN has labeled the crisis in Sudan as its most severe humanitarian disaster.
