Over 500 Sudanese killed in air strikes
Areas of control of RSF (red) and SAF (green) in Sennar, El Gezira, White Nile and El Gedaref states in Sudan as of October 6 (Image: Sudan War Monitor)
Emergency Lawyers condemned the continued aerial bombardment by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) forces on areas occupied by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Gezira, Sennar, White Nile state, North Kordofan, and West and North Darfur, which killed hundreds of civilians in the last week, estimated to be over 500.
The lawyers call the air raids on civilians “a fully-fledged war crime” and consider “the insistence of the military leaders” to continue with the airstrikes “a scandal for the international and regional communities.”
The DBA repeated its call on the international community “to quickly take the necessary measures to stop these serious violations and bring those responsible for them to justice.”
Hasaheisa airstrikes
Yesterday morning, warplanes launched airstrikes on the Fur Market in Hasaheisa in El Gezira, killing and wounding more than 100 people, including children.
The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) strongly condemned the airstrike. “The violations taking place amount to genocide,” the DBA said in a statement, posted by Nafeesa Hajar, the association’s deputy head on her Facebook page.
The Sudanese Emergency Lawyers group said in a statement on its Facebook page that the Sudanese Air Force “randomly bombed Hasaheisa locality.” Activists circulated video clips on social media platforms, showing the bodies of the victims, with sounds of screaming and crying.
Jebel Moon violence
Sources in West Darfur told Radio Dabanga that the Sudanese Air Force launched airstrikes on the area of Selea, the capital of Jebel Moon locality, on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the army announced on Saturday that it had taken control of the Jebel Moya area in Sennar State and opened the Rabak-Sennar road.
Mohamed Abakar told Radio Dabanga that it was not possible to determine the number of victims and damages resulting from the bombing in Seleia due to the complete disruption of communications networks and the unavailability of Starlink satellite internet devices. Others reported that the authorities in West Darfur, dominated by the RSF since early November last year, suspended Starlink devices from 5pm until the next morning.
Last week, the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements (aka Sudanese Joint Force*), which is fighting alongside the Sudanese army against the RSF, deployed their forces in Kulbus town and neighbouring villages in northern West Darfur. This led to clashes in the Jebel Awum area, which lies between Kulbus and Jebel Moon.
The Joint Force and RSF released videos announcing their control of the Jebel Awum area. However, locals told Radio Dabanga that the Joint Force were not present in Jebel Awum.
El Geneina control
The RSF reportedly regained control of the areas of Sirba, Abu Suruj, and Bir Saliba, north of the West Darfur capital of El Geneina, after the Sudanese Joint Force took control of them last week.
Sources reported that three people were killed, nine others were injured, and a large number of houses were burned in Abu Suruj during attacks launched by the RSF on Wednesday and continuing on Thursday. The Abu Suruj and Bir Saliba markets were plundered.
El Fasher battles
In North Darfur, El Fasher witnessed violent battles between the RSF and the Sudanese Joint Force in the eastern and southern parts of the city on Sunday morning. The Abu Shouk Emergency Room in northern El Fasher reported artillery fire inside the camp this afternoon.
Ahmed Hussein, the official spokesperson for the Sudanese Joint Force, said on X that the Joint Force and army soldiers defeated the RSF during violent confrontations on Sunday morning.
He said that a unit from the Joint Force arrived from outside El Fasher and was met by members of the Joint Force inside the city.
El Fasher is the last of the five Darfur state capitals not under RSF control. Residents fear that full RSF control of the city could ignite strife between Arab tribesmen supporting the RSF and the Zaghawa from which most fighters of the North Darfur rebel movements hail.
Abu Shouk shelling
The emergency room of the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people yesterday announced the killing of 10 people and the injury of four others as a result of RSF artillery shelling on the camp on Sunday evening.
The Abu Shouk Emergency Room said, on its Facebook page, that the shelling resumed yesterday morning, but did not mention any casualties among the displaced.
65 people were killed in airstrikes on the El Koma Market in North Darfur on Friday. Over 200 people were injured as a result of the airstrikes.
On the same day, warplanes bombed the town of Mellit, north of El Koma, killing 23 people. In North Kordofan, warplanes bombed Hamrat El Sheikh town on Saturday, killing 38 people and wounding 150 others.
* The Darfur Joint Force was formed in June 2022, as agreed on in the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement (JPA), to protect the people in the region. The force was made up of fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement faction headed by Darfur Governor Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the JEM faction led by Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim (JEM-GI), and several small rebel groups that signed the JPA. These movements renounced their neutrality in November last year and are now fighting the RSF alongside the Sudanese army. Since then, Sudanese media speak about the Joint Force of Armed Struggle Movements, while the group’s logo on their X and Facebook accounts says Sudanese Joint Force (and in Arabic Sudanese Joint Forces).
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