‘At least seven dead in Darfur air raid’: herdsman

At least seven people, including four children, are reported to have died in renewed air raids, allegedly by the Sudanese air force, in Darfur’s East Jebel Marra on Thursday. Several witnesses fleeing the area told Radio Dabanga that the vicinities of Kined and Silo in Shangil Tobay administrative unit, as well as the and villages of Kunjara, Sharaf, Tirbo, and Vanaga were affected. They said that three Antonov aircraft and two MiG jets pounded those areas from 8am until 1pm on Thursday. They said that they saw “many dead and wounded among the population, as well as a number of livestock killed”. They could not quote exact number, however, as “people were fleeing for their lives in all directions”. A herdsman, however, who spoke to Radio Dabanga said that while they were watering their livestock at the wells of the Abuzaid agricultural project, a strike killed seven people and wounded five others. “The dead included four children: Aisha Hussein Yaqoub (6), Yahiya Yaqoub Issa (7), Rufiedah Adam Saleh (12), and Adam Saleh Jumma (15),” the herdsman said.The roar of aircraft is hindering South Darfur farmers of Marshang, Manawashi, Abu Hamra, and Al Malam to go about their daily lives, tend their farms of shop for food, as the bombs could fall at any moment.The witnesses called on the UN and the international community to enforce a no-fly zone in Darfur, and to document the crimes of the Khartoum regime. File photo: Children in East Jebel Marra, Darfur (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related: ‘Several dead and injured in Darfur air raid’: witnesses (3 September 2013) Air sorties ‘traumatising Darfur’s East Jebel Marra’: witnesses (22 August 2013)