Military Airstrike Kills 100 in Sudanese Market
A military airstrike by Sudan’s armed forces on a crowded market in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, has killed over 100 people and left hundreds more injured. The attack occurred on Monday during the town’s weekly market day, when residents from surrounding villages had gathered to shop. The airstrike has been described as one of the deadliest incidents in Sudan’s ongoing 20-month conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to the pro-democracy lawyers’ group Emergency Lawyers, the strike targeted civilians, including women and children, causing widespread casualties. Kabkabiya, which has been under siege by the RSF since May, has been facing severe humanitarian crises.
Video footage shared by the Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees purportedly showed the aftermath of the attack, with residents searching through rubble, and charred remains of children visible on the ground. However, the authenticity of the footage could not be independently verified.
This attack is part of a broader escalation of violence in Sudan. On the same day, barrel bombs were reportedly dropped on three neighborhoods in Nyala, South Darfur, though no casualties have been reported from this strike. Additionally, a drone crash in North Kordofan resulted in six fatalities.
The Emergency Lawyers group condemned the attacks, calling them “horrendous massacres” and accusing both the Sudanese army and RSF of deliberately targeting densely populated areas. The war, which has already resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced millions, has caused widespread suffering, with Darfur hosting a large portion of the displaced population. The region has also been hit by a famine, exacerbated by the RSF’s siege and the disruption of trade and aid access.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis, with Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief, urging international action. The conflict has left around 26 million people in Sudan, or half the country’s population, facing starvation. Both sides have been accused of using hunger as a weapon of war.
