Activists report spike in mass civilian deaths

11/10/2024 6:24

        Rights activists and local
        responders said scores of civilians had been killed at sites
        across Sudan in the past week as the army escalates air strikes
        nearly 18 months into its war with the paramilitary Rapid
        Support Forces.
        
        While the RSF controls almost half of the country, the army
        has recently deployed its superior air power to help it regain
        some territory in the capital Khartoum, and to pound other areas
        occupied by its rivals.
        
        Sudan's war, which erupted from a power struggle between the
        army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule
        and free elections, has already created the world's largest
        displacement crisis and caused famine.
        
        Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese human rights group, said
        hundreds of people had been killed in such strikes across the
        country. It did not state the period of time for that casualty
        toll but said it demonstrated "the armed forces' indifference to
        protecting defenceless civilians".
        
        In Hasaheisa, a town in El Gezira state south of Khartoum
        where the RSF has stationed many fighters, airstrikes killed or
        injured over 100 people on Monday, Emergency Lawyers said.
        
        An activist from the area said at least 38 people were
        killed, mostly children. He shared video with Reuters of the
        aftermath of the strike appearing to show a residential area.
        
        In the North Kordofan town of Humrat Alsheikh, west of
        Khartoum, an airstrike on Oct. 5 killed 30 people and injured
        more than 100, Emergency Lawyers said, posting a video that
        appeared to show a market that had been hit.
        
        Reuters could not independently verify the footage in either
        video.
        
        A day earlier, a strike that hit another market in al-Koma
        in North Darfur killed 61 people, according to the local
        emergency response room. Those killed included 13 children, U.N.
        agency UNICEF said.
        
        The army, which did not immediately respond to a request for
        comment, has accused the RSF of occupying civilian homes and
        launching attacks from civilian areas. The RSF denies using
        civilians as human shields.
        
        FIGHTING LIKELY TO INTENSIFY
        
        Yale Humanitarian Lab, which monitors the war in Sudan, said
        the army had also carried out a significant campaign of
        bombardment in RSF-controlled areas of al-Fashir, a North Darfur
        city that the paramilitary has besieged for months.
        
        The army's advance in the capital, which began in late
        September, has also led to reported casualties. Radhouane
        Nouicer, Sudan expert for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human
        Rights, expressed alarm at reports, some of which circulated on
        social media, of the summary execution of 70 young men by forces
        allied to the army in Bahri, part of the greater capital region.
        
        Fighting is expected to intensify with the end of rains that
        had halted the RSF's advance in southeast Sudan. The RSF's
        leader called on troops to report to their units and said they
        were prepared to fight on for years.
        
        Overall death tolls from the war are highly uncertain due to
        the collapse of health and government services, and lack of
        access for aid workers. Both sides have received material
        support from external supporters.
        
        "The uptick in fighting and reported civilian casualties and
        damage to infrastructure are all happening while more weapons
        are finding their way to the warring parties," said Mohamed
        Osman of Human Rights Watch.