The UN condemns the Sudanese army’s airstrikes on Omdurman
As clashes between the army and paramilitaries enter their twelfth week in Sudan, an airstrike on Saturday left at least 22 dead and dozens wounded in Omdurman, near the capital Khartoum. A deadly bombing condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the airstrike that killed at least 22 people in Omdurman, Sudan on Saturday, in a statement released early Sunday (July 9).
At least 22 people were killed and dozens wounded in a Sudanese army air strike on western Omdurman, Khartoum’s health ministry said on Saturday, as clashes between the country’s military factions entered their twelfth week.
As the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) quickly dominated the capital Khartoum and its two neighboring towns of Omdurman and Bahri after fighting began on April 15, the army carried out airstrikes and artillery fire.
The fighting, which no attempt at mediation has so far been able to put an end to, threatens to drag Sudan into a wider civil war involving other actors internal and external to the West African country.
Half of the capital destroyed
Antonio Guterres also said he was appalled by reports of widespread violence and casualties in Sudan’s Darfur region, the statement said.
“He is also concerned about reports of renewed fighting in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. There is a complete disregard for humanitarian and human rights law which is dangerous and worrying,” it added.
The UN Secretary-General again called on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to stop fighting and commit to finding ways to end hostilities in the long term.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, at least 1,133 people have been killed in the clashes that broke out in the capital and in the Kordofan and Darfur regions, sparking ethnic violence in West Darfur state.
More than 2.9 million people have been displaced, with nearly 700,000 fleeing to neighboring countries. More than half of the capital was destroyed.
Reuters
