Newborn among five killed in SAF airstrike in Central Darfur

Reports indicate that an airstrike conducted by the Sudanese Air Force (SAF) killed at least five displaced people, including a newborn, and injured three others in the Khamsa Dagayeg camp for displaced people in Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, on Saturday evening. The Darfur Displaced and Refugee Camps Coordination has strongly condemned the attack, highlighting the ongoing and escalating pattern of aerial and artillery bombardment targeting displaced communities in Darfur.

A resident of the camp neighbouring Zalingei told Radio Dabanga, “Zalingei was bombarded by SAF warplanes on Saturday evening around 10.00. The airstrike targeted the camp and the surrounding neighbourhood, hitting residential areas and causing civilian casualties.”

In a statement published yesterday by the Darfur Displaced and Refugee Camps Coordination, they underscored that displaced people in Darfur have endured over two decades of relentless suffering. Recent conflicts, particularly since April 15, 2023, have only exacerbated this plight, leading to further casualties among vulnerable groups.

The Coordination also pointed to indiscriminate shelling in the Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher in North Darfur, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. The Sudanese Armed Forces, they noted, have systematically targeted civilians through aerial bombardments and heavy weaponry since 2003, forcibly displacing thousands from their homes and continuing these violations without reprieve.

Displaced people in Central Darfur complain about continued fragility in the capital and across the state, after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over Zalingei on October 31 last year following months of fighting with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). 

The RSF controls large parts of Central Darfur, while combatants of the Sudan Liberation Movement under the leadership of Abdelwahid Nur (SLM-AW) have taken control of Nierteti and surrounding areas.

The Coordination cited this airstrike as part of a broader pattern of systematic targeting of civilians, noting the tragic loss of life in Zalingei. They called on the international community and the United Nations to take immediate action to monitor the situation in Darfur and Sudan.

Urging the imposition of a ban on military aviation in Darfur, the Coordination asserted that this is the only way to prevent further grave violations of human rights.