Darfur airstrikes: 13 dead, 10 wounded

Thirteen (13) citizens were killed and 10 people wounded in two consecutive airstrikes in South Darfur. An Antonov plane belonging to the Sudanese Army dropped bombs on the area of Asharaya in Yassin district of Darfur this Sunday morning leading to the death of 12. The second incident happened in the area of Libdo, leading to the death of one. The first incident began when a citizen working as a registrar at a water pump drove from the water pump to his relatives in a Land Cruiser. Witnesses to the incidents stated that the moment the registrar arrived, the Antonov plane bombed the car, which led to the immediate death of a child, a young boy and the wounding of the driver. All three were civilians. The car and surroundings caught fire as a result of the bombing and lead to the death of cattle that were around. Civilians rushed to the place of the incident to put out the fires and upon their return to their houses, the Antonov plane returned and bombed the area leading to the immediate death of 10 people and the wounding of 8 others.

A second incident happened in the area of Labado, South Darfur, where also an Antonov plane bombed two carts two kilometers away from the other air-strikes. The incident led to the death of one civilian: Faduli Abakr who was twenty-four years old. Two others were wounded: twenty eight year old Osman Mahmood who lost his leg and was rushed to the hospital of Nyala, and Abdul Rahim Idriss who suffered several wounds. In the incident also two horses were killed. Relatives of the victims told Radio Dabanga that the three people were coming back after gathering wood when they were attacked by the plane in the area between Labado and Wadi Walgid.

The citizens living in the area of Ashariya condemned the governmental attacks on the citizens and called on the United Nations and the Security Council to interfere to stop the continuing air-strikes in Darfur. They also demanded the opening of an investigation on this incident by a neutral body. One citizen told Radio Dabanga that the deceased people leave behind sixteen widows and a number of orphans. It was confirmed that the citizens refused to bury the bodies until UNAMID and neutral investigators would arrive and look into the matter.