At Least 40 Killed In Darfur As UN's Sudan Chief Quits
Umer Jamshaid Published September 13, 2023 | 11:52 PM
An air raid on Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region killed at least 40 civilians on Wednesday, according to a medical source, as the head of the UN mission to the country resigned
Wad Madani, Sudan, Sept 13 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Sep, 2023 ) :An air raid on Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region killed at least 40 civilians on Wednesday, according to a medical source, as the head of the UN mission to the country resigned.
Volker Perthes, who has been "persona non grata" by Sudanese authorities since June, warned the United Nations Security Council again, in his final briefing before leaving the post, that Sudan's war risks further deterioration.
"Forty civilians have been killed in an air strike that hit two markets and a number of the city's neighbourhoods," the medical source told AFP from a hospital in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The source asked for anonymity out of security concerns.
Since battles began on April 15 between the regular army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by Burhan's former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, nearly 7,500 people have been killed, according to a conservative estimate from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
More than five million people have been uprooted, including one million who fled across borders, according to UN figures.
- Intensified fighting - Witnesses in Nyala had reported earlier on Wednesday air strikes falling on two markets and causing civilian casualties in Sudan's second-biggest city.
The western region of Darfur -- the size of France and home to a quarter of Sudan's population -- had already seen some of the war's worst unrest before violence intensified last month.
Over 10 days in August, more than 50,000 people fled the city, according to the UN.
In early September, those who remained looked up to see a new escalation: air force fighter jets -- whose strikes have been largely limited to the capital Khartoum -- flying overhead.
Their bombs struck both RSF bases and the residential neighbourhoods they inhabit, witnesses told AFP.
The army maintains control of the skies and has been accused of repeated indiscriminate shelling of residential areas where paramilitaries have embedded themselves, including by evicting families and taking over homes.
Positioning themselves in civilian-occupied neighbourhoods and buildings is "a potential violation of the Geneva Conventions," the US-supported Sudan Conflict Observatory has said.
It added that the Sudanese Armed Forces "would still be required to ensure that civilian harm is minimised regardless of whether a target has been made a legitimate military target." Wednesday's attack came a day after a medical source reported 17 civilians killed in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman. Witnesses described that attack as RSF shelling.
On Sunday, at least 51 people were killed and dozens wounded in air strikes on southern Khartoum, according to UN human rights chief Volker Turk.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called it "the deadliest weekend witnessed by our teams in Khartoum since the beginning of the conflict, five months ago."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Sharjah Animation Conference explores cross-cultural collaboration opportunities ..
Sharjah Public Library provides countless opportunities for young imaginations t ..
Sharjah Police launches 'Your belongings, your responsibility' awareness campaig ..
Dubai Police displays Innovative Tourism Security Services at 'ATM 2024'
Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal not part of national squad for Ireland, England: Bab ..
Erdogan opens former church to Muslim worshippers
Cultural events hallmark of a nation, Director RAC
Iraq hangs 11 convicted of 'terrorism': security, health sources
Stocks rise on renewed hopes of rate cuts
PM assures all-out support to Saudi investment
S.Africa building collapse traps 48 workers: city hall
Nilofar lauds efforts for development of national document aimed promoting balan ..
More Stories From World
-
Football: Italian Serie A results - collated
2 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A table
2 hours ago -
Atalanta climb into Serie A top five ahead of Marseille decider
2 hours ago -
Jones frustrates Wilson's quest to win World Snooker final
2 hours ago -
No let up yet for flood-battered south Brazil
4 hours ago -
Serie A blasts plans for government football finance body
4 hours ago
-
Prophet's Mosque accommodates over 4.2 million worshippers last week
4 hours ago -
UN experts slams Israel’s ‘sexual assault and violence’ against women, children in Gaza
4 hours ago -
Merlier pips Milan to Giro third stage, bold Pogacar holds lead
4 hours ago -
Sharjah Animation Conference explores cross-cultural collaboration opportunities, highlights new pro ..
5 hours ago -
Sharjah Public Library provides countless opportunities for young imaginations to take flight at SCR ..
5 hours ago -
Sharjah Police launches 'Your belongings, your responsibility' awareness campaign
5 hours ago