Sudan military airstrike kills 54 in market attack, aid groups say

Aid groups in Sudan reported on March 25th that at least 54 people were killed in a military airstrike on a local market in the country’s western region, as reported by the Associated Press.

The strike, which took place on March 24th in the village of Tora, caused a massive fire, according to Adam Regal, a spokesperson for General Coordination, a local group assisting displaced people in Darfur.

This airstrike is the latest attack in the ongoing conflict that began in April 2023, when tensions between the military and the RSF erupted into open warfare across the region.

Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah, a spokesperson for the Sudanese military, stated that civilians had not been targeted, calling the allegations “incorrect” and asserting that such claims are raised whenever military forces exercise their constitutional and legal rights to deal with hostile targets.

The military airstrike in Sudan destroyed the weekly market in Tora, a village located several kilometers north of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

Emergency Waters, a coalition of rights defenders tracking war violations across Sudan, condemned the strike in a statement, describing it as having hit “an area densely populated with civilians” and labeling it a “systemic war crime.”

The group blamed the military for the strike and called for an independent investigation to ensure those responsible for these crimes are held accountable in international courts.

More than half of the dead were women, according to a list of casualties provided by Rejal.

At least 23 people were wounded and seven were missing, the list showed.

Rejal said that the strike was “a crime against humanity and a clear violation of all international and humanitarian laws and conventions,” as reported by the  Associated Press.

Associated Press