Bombing reported in Darfur’s Jebel Marra

On Thursday afternoon, a Sudanese Air Force plane dropped three explosive barrels west of Deribat in Jebel Marra, without causing any human casualties.

The three barrel bombs hit the area of Logi and killed a number of livestock of residents. The attack caused panic in the area.

Witnesses reported to Radio Dabanga that the plane had flown over Logi for a period of time before bombing the area.

There have been no reports of aerial bombardments in Darfur's Jebel Marra in recent months: the latest bombing occurred in October and reportedly killed one man and scores of livestock in Deribat. In preceding weeks, renewed fighting had broken out between the Sudanese army and rebel SLM-AW combatants.

The former president of the United States' administration announced that Sudan has reduced military aerial bombardment in the Darfur region, one of the reasons why Barack Obama ordered the easing of financial sanctions against Sudan in the beginning of this year.

Displaced

The Jebel Marra mountains are a site of regular clashes between rebel forces and government troops and militias. Ongoing aerial bombardments have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, with reports reaching Radio Dabanga of ‘empty villages’ being bombed. Some of the residents have fled to camps for the displaced while others find refuge in caves in the mountains.

According to the UN and partners, 82,000 people were newly displaced across Darfur during the first seven months of 2016, when a military offensive against the holdout rebels in the mountainous region shook its grounds. Up to an additional 117,000 people were also reportedly displaced, but the UN and partners were unable to verify these figures owing to a lack of access to the relevant locations.