25 Killed In Weekend Attacks On Khartoum As Violence Continues In Sudan

At least twenty-five civilians were killed in attacks that took place in Sudan’s Khartoum over the weekend, as the violence showed no signs of abating after nearly five months of war, as reported by news agency AFP. Five civilians were killed on Sunday when bombs that “fell on their homes” in the capital of Sudan, AFP reported citing a medical source. This comes a day after an airstrike in the south of the city claiming lives of 20 people. The residents in the city stated that the city was pummelled by artillery and rocket fire again on Sunday.

“The death toll from the aerial bombardment” on Saturday “has risen to 20 civilian fatalities”, the neighbourhood’s resistance committee said in a statement, as quoted by AFP. They are among many volunteer groups that used to organise pro-democracy demonstrations and now provide assistance to families caught in the line of fire.

In an earlier statement, the committee stated that the victims included two children, and that further fatalities went unrecorded as “their bodies could not be moved to the hospital because they were severely burned or torn to pieces in the bombing”.

Over 5,000 Lives Lost In Clashes

At least 5,000 people have died since fighting broke out on April 15 between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as per the estimates from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, AFP reported. The Sudanese armed forces have carried out regular airstrikes, while RSF fighters dominate the streets in the capital.

Western countries have accused the paramilitaries and allied militias of killings based on ethnicity in the western Darfur region, and the international criminal court has opened a new investigation into alleged war crimes. The army has also been accused of abuses, including an airstrike on 8 July that killed about two dozen civilians.

Over Half Of Sudan’s People Are In Need Of Humanitarian Aid And Protection: UN

According to the United Nations, over half of Sudan’s 48 million people are in need of humanitarian aid and protection, and 6 million are “one step away from famine”. The UN also stated that it has provided aid to millions of those in need despite insecurity, looting and bureaucratic obstacles.

The war has internally displaced about 3.8 million people, it says, and another million have crossed borders into neighbouring countries. Among the displaced are nearly 2.8 million people from Khartoum, as per the UN’s International Organization for Migration, AFP reported. 

Those who remain shelter from the crossfire, rationing water and electricity. Resistance committees have been some of the only sources of relief in Khartoum, helping dig survivors out of the rubble of bombed buildings. The committees have been dodging gunfire on the streets to provide medicine and documenting atrocities committed by both sides.