At least 54 killed, 158 wounded in RSF attack on Sudan’s Omdurman market
Minister of Culture and government spokesperson Khalid al-Aleisir condemned the assault, saying the casualties included many women and children.
At least 54 people were killed and 158 others injured in a strike on Saturday by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a market in Omdurman, the health ministry confirmed.
Eyewitnesses at the scene described artillery shells hitting the Sabrein Market, leading to significant casualties.
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“The shells fell in the middle of the vegetable market, that’s why the victims and the wounded are so many,” a survivor told AFP.
A source at Al-Nao Hospital, speaking on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons, reported that casualties were still being brought to the facility on Saturday following the attack.
“The wounded are still being brought to the hospital,” they said.
The RSF however denied responsibility for the attack, accusing Sudan’s regular army of targeting civilians instead.
Minister of Culture and government spokesperson Khalid al-Aleisir condemned the assault, saying the casualties included many women and children.
He added that the attack caused widespread damage to both private and public properties.
“This criminal act adds to the bloody record of this militia,” al-Aleisir said.
“It constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
12 million displaced
Since the conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s army broke out in April 2023, tens of thousands of people have been killed, and more than 12 million displaced.
The violence has pushed much of the country into hunger, with millions facing severe food insecurity.
The attack follows a vow by RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo ‘Hemedti’ to retake Khartoum from the army.
“We expelled them before, and we will expel them again,” Daglo said in a rare video address.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s capital has become largely unrecognisable, with over 26,000 killed there between April 2023 and June 2024, according to a report from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The ongoing conflict has decimated entire neighbourhoods and forced 3.6 million people to flee Khartoum.
Those remaining have endured regular shelling, with many facing starvation due to sieges on residential areas.
The United Nations estimates that at least 106,000 people in the capital are suffering from famine, while a further 3.2 million experience crisis-level hunger.
International efforts to address the crisis have intensified, with the United States sanctioning both Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Daglo for their roles in human rights violations, including attacks on civilian targets and food deprivation as a weapon of war.
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