Dozens possibly dead in South Darfur clashes

Fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued yesterday morning in Nyala for the third consecutive day, which brings the civilian death toll of these clashes to at least 15, with dozens of injuries. The RSF reported 43 civilian deaths in the South Darfur capital.

A doctor at El Wahda Hospital, south of Nyala, told Radio Dabanga that 30 cases of gunshot wounds and artillery shelling had arrived in the hospital since clashes renewed on Friday. Three people died and the rest is still receiving treatment.

Residents told Radio Dabanga that the RSF and the army exchanged shelling indiscriminately, which led to shells falling into homes and residential neighbourhoods. The two sides also clashed with light and heavy weapons inside several neighbourhoods.

The artillery exchanged predominantly affected the Texas neighbourhood, Karari, the West Valley neighbourhood, the popular market, and the area around the command of the 16th Infantry Division.

Dozens of cars loaded with fighters moved through Nyala neighbourhoods as RSF reinforcements arrived, residents said.

Local residents told Radio Dabanga that most families in shell-hit neighbourhoods had fled their homes and moved to safer places in the city and nearby villages.

Shells fell on civilian homes in at least eight neighbourhoods and hit three women in the Dereij district, two people in the High Dam, and one in western Karari. Two sisters were also hit by shelling.

Nyala has been witnessing continued clashes between the army and the RSF since the outbreak of the war in April, leading to hundreds of deaths and injuries. The Humanitarian Aid Commission in South Darfur revealed that 296,000 people have been displaced in the state between the outbreak of the war and August 6. The number of displaced people in South Darfur was already more than 515,000 before the war.

RSF reports

The RSF reported the death of 43 people, including 8 women and children, as a result of the indiscriminate shelling by the army on a number of neighbourhoods in Nyala in the past three days, including Tadamon, Texas, and Karari.

In a statement, the paramilitary forces said they continued their ‘inventory operations’ as some neighbourhoods are difficult to reach and badly affected by the bombing. The forces also reported communication problems after the communication networks in the city were deliberately shut down.

It also claimed that 12 people were killed, including two children, and 17 others were injured in aircraft shelling and heavy artillery bombardment in Khartoum and Omdurman, especially in southern Khartoum where Mayo, El Azhari, and Ed Hussein neighbourhoods were amongst those who faced shelling.

Ombadda, El Salha, and El Fitihab in Omdurman several neighbourhoods in Sharg El Nil were hit as well.