Sudan war: At least 60 dead as Omdurman market shelled

The Ministry of Health in Khartoum state has confirmed that at least 54 people were killed and 158 others injured on Saturday, as a result of artillery shelling allegedly launched by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sabreen Market in Karari locality in Omdurman. As ‘dismembered’ victims continue to be brought to hospitals, witnesses, and doctors fear that the toll will rise. [Updated 17:25] The death toll has now risen to more than 60 dead and more than 250 wounded.

The ministry said in an earlier statement seen by Radio Dabanga that El No Hospital received 105 injuries and 52 deaths, while Sawaeed Hospital received 53 injuries and two deaths.

The Federal Ministry of Health strongly condemned this behaviour and commended all the medical staff working at El Nao and Sawaeed Hospital.

Volunteers at El Nao Hospital said the hospital was overcrowded with victims, and there was a need for blood donations, intravenous fluids, and mattresses.

They report the removal of the bodies from Sabreen Market to the hospital by trucks, bulldozers, and rickshaws.

The Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces “Tagadom” condemned the continued violations against civilians during the past 72 hours.

It condemned the artillery shelling of residential neighbourhoods in the El Thawrat area and Sabreen Market by the RSF.

It also condemned the liquidation of civilians in Umm Rawaba, including El Tayeb Abdullah, Director of the Education Department in Umm Rawaba Rural and a leader in the National Umma Party, in addition to similar crimes against civilians, including killing by slaughter or shooting after the army recaptured Bahri. It also condemned the aerial bombardment of the area south of the belt.

It called on both parties to the war to immediately stop targeting civilians and fulfil their obligations under the Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians.

Tagadom stressed the need for the international community to respond now and immediately to the recommendation of the fact-finding mission formed by the Human Rights Council to expand the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to include all crimes committed in the current war in Sudan as of April 15, 2023, and to bring all perpetrators to justice and trial.

‘Full-fledged war crime’

Khaled Omar Youssef, a leader in the Progress Coordination Committee, said that the artillery shelling that targeted the Sabreen Market in Omdurman by the RSF was “a full-fledged war crime.”

He condemned this crime, which he described as heinous, and stressed the need to hold its perpetrators accountable. He added: “This war is an absolute evil, and a curse that has befallen our country. There is no good in it, nor in those who call for its continuation, or profit from it, or cover up its crimes, siding with this party or that.”

In a separate statement, as reported elsewhere by Radio Dabanga, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Friday said he was deeply alarmed by reports of summary executions of civilians – many from Darfur or Kordofan – in seven separate incidents, allegedly by fighters and militia allied to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Khartoum North (Bahri), and reiterated his call for an immediate end to such attacks.

“Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects are abhorrent. They must end immediately and so must incitement to violence against civilians. Such attacks constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes,” Türk warns.

Radio Dabanga has approached the RSF for comment.

Updated at 17:25 to reflect that The death toll has now risen to more than 60 dead and more than 250 wounded.