THe began bombing in the middle of the night. Sudanese warplanes struck an industrial area in El Dein, the capital of East Darfur state, then the city’s main market and at least two other nearby areas, locals said.
The attack early Tuesday morning killed at least 10 people, including two refugees from South Sudan and six people who had fled from other parts of Darfur. Dozens of people were reportedly injured and hundreds of homes destroyed.
Yagob Siddig, who lives in one of the bombed areas, said: “It was very scary. We lost people… In the east, whole families died. Many houses, especially those built with local materials, were destroyed. I feel like they [the army] He wants us to run away. ”
This week’s attack was the military’s third since rival Rapid Support Forces took control of the city in late November. RSF announced that civilians were killed. The military said it had destroyed an RSF armory and killed several “field commanders and Dagalo terrorist mercenaries.”
Internet and mobile networks were down in the city, making it difficult to make a detailed independent assessment of what happened.
The deadly bombing was further evidence that the 10-month conflict between Sudanese forces and the RSF shows no signs of abating. The fighting has displaced millions of people and caused widespread malnutrition. Earlier this month, the United Nations warned of an “epidemic of suffering” in the country.
In recent months, Eldein’s population has swelled with people displaced by fighting from other parts of Darfur, a vast region of western Sudan where the RSF has consolidated its hold.
Some came from Juneina, the capital of West Darfur state, which itself has been subject to repeated military bombings. Air attacks on RSF-controlled areas appear to be the only option for the army, which is struggling to contain the RSF’s expansion. Conversations among people living in the disaster area are dominated by how to get out and where to go.
When The Guardian recently visited the village of Aldamata, on the road between Geneina and the airport, many people were trying to sell their furniture to finance their escape to neighboring Chad. Recent airstrikes hit the airport and village, sowing fear among residents.
Rima Mohamed Abdullah, a 25-year-old university student, said, “Some of my acquaintances urinated on the bed after hearing the explosion.” “Some people were going crazy,” Abdullah said.After one attack, she said people fled her neighborhood for Adre, a town just over the border with Chad.
Fighting between the army and the RSF in Juneina and surrounding villages late last year was brutal. When the RSF attacked, its fighters and allies in other Arab militias targeted men and boys from the African ethnic group Masalit.
During the worst of the fighting, many members of the Masalit community fled east to Chad. Jamal Badawi, one of the few traditional Masalit leaders who has remained in Juneina since then, said that although the fighting had subsided, fear of military bombing, food shortages and the threat of looting were preventing people from returning. It is said to be interfering. The war has begun.
Four of Darfur’s five provinces are now in the hands of the RSF, which also captured much of the capital Khartoum, the sister cities of Bari and Omdurman, and most of the territory of western Kordofan in the first weeks of the war. Controlled.
Last week, the military made its first major advance in 10 months of fighting, regaining control of parts of the city of Omdurman. The military announced late Friday that it had successfully connected the city’s two main bases, sparking celebrations among soldiers and local residents. RSF denied that the army had advanced. “The military has turned to propaganda because it is on the brink of defeat,” the media outlet said in a statement.
Shortly after the Juneina airport bombing, the Habaniya family living in Al-Damata decided to leave. They packed their belongings into two cars, but when they started the engines, they were stopped by several RSF fighters. The soldiers were told they could go anywhere else in Darfur, but not Chad, the family said. It is not clear whether the fighters were following official RSF policy.
Abdulrahman Guma, the RSF commander in West Darfur, acknowledged that military bombing is a problem for militias that lack anti-aircraft weapons.
Meanwhile, sources close to the military said RSF fighters seized some anti-aircraft weapons when they captured the Junena camp in November, but that they were disabled by army soldiers before being withdrawn. said.
