Aid groups in Sudan reported Tuesday that at least 54 people were killed in a military airstrike on a local market in the country’s western region.
According to Adam Rejal, a spokesman for the General Coordination, a local organization aiding displaced people in Darfur, the strike on Monday in the village of Tora sparked a massive fire.
The attack is the latest in the ongoing war that erupted in April 2023 when tensions between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated into full-scale conflict.
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Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a military spokesman, denied targeting civilians, calling the allegations “incorrect” and insisting they surface whenever the armed forces act against hostile elements.
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The airstrike devastated a significant portion of the weekly market in Tora, a village located 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province.
Emergency Lawyers, a coalition tracking war violations in Sudan, condemned the attack as a “systematic war crime,” noting that the strike hit “an area densely populated with civilians.” The group accused the military of responsibility and urged an independent investigation to hold perpetrators accountable before international courts.
Support Darfur Victims, a local humanitarian group, shared graphic video footage showing charred bodies and burned structures.
Rejal reported that more than half of the casualties were women, with at least 23 people wounded and seven still missing. He described the attack as “a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of all international and humanitarian laws.”
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Despite facing near-daily attacks from the RSF, the Sudanese military retains control of el-Fasher, AP reported.
The war has ravaged the capital and other major cities, killing more than 28,000 people, displacing millions, and pushing parts of the country into famine. Some families are now resorting to eating grass to survive.
The conflict has been marred by mass atrocities, including ethnic killings and widespread sexual violence, which the United Nations and human rights organizations have classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly in Darfur.
In recent months, the military has gained ground against the RSF, regaining control of strategic sites in Khartoum, including the Republican Palace, the seat of the pre-war government.
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