At least 22 killed following airstrike in Sudan as civil war looms
At least 22 people were killed in an airstrike in Sudan on Saturday, as warring military factions in the African nation stretch an ongoing conflict into its 12th week.
The airstrike was initiated by the Sudanese Army, and targeted the country's largest city, Omdurman, according to a statement from Sudan's health ministry cited by Reuters. The attack reportedly demolished numerous homes around the city and left dozens of civilians injured.
The assault is the latest in the Sudanese military's fight against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group made up of former Sudanese Army officials. In a statement, the RSF said the attack "targeted innocent civilians in various residential areas" and represented "a grave crime against humanity and a clear violation of our religious values, cultural norms, and international conventions." The RSF also claimed that at least 31 people died in the attack, though Sudanese officials have not corroborated this.
A video accompanying the RSF statement appeared to show the aftermath of the attack, with dead bodies littering the ground as people combed through the rubble. A voice can be heard saying these were "bodies of civilians killed by warplanes...most of them women and children," according to the video's Arabic subtitles.
The fighting between the Sudanese military and the RSF began in April, and thousands have already been killed. Most of the violence continues to be concentrated in the country's capital, Khartoum.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the airstrike, and was "appalled by reports of large-scale violence and casualties," a statement from a UN spokesperson said. Guterres also said Sudan has seen "an utter disregard for humanitarian and human rights law that is dangerous and disturbing," and warned that the violence has "pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilizing the entire region."
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