56 Killed As Artillery Shelling, Air Strikes Devastate Greater Khartoum

At least 56 people were killed and over 160 others wounded on Saturday following a wave of artillery shelling and air strikes in greater Khartoum, marking one of the deadliest escalations in the 22-month conflict between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The attacks, which targeted civilian and military sites, have further intensified the battle for control of the capital, with both sides accusing each other of indiscriminate attacks.

The worst hit was an army-controlled market in Omdurman, where RSF shelling killed at least 54 people and injured 158, overwhelming the Al-Nao Hospital, one of the last functioning medical centers in the city.

“The shells hit in the middle of the vegetable market, that’s why the victims and the wounded are so many,” a survivor told AFP.

The RSF denied responsibility for the attack, despite multiple reports indicating that bombardment came from the group’s controlled areas in the western outskirts of the city.

Meanwhile, two civilians were killed and dozens wounded in Khartoum proper, where an air strike by the regular army targeted an RSF-held area, according to local Emergency Response Room reports.

While the RSF has deployed drones for recent attacks, Sudan’s army maintains a monopoly on air strikes, raising concerns over the growing civilian death toll.

Both factions have been repeatedly accused of war crimes, including targeting schools, hospitals, and markets, as well as indiscriminate shelling of residential areas.

The Sudanese doctors’ union revealed that a shell fell just meters away from Al-Nao Hospital on Saturday, adding to the devastation.

A volunteer at the hospital described a dire situation, stating, “We lack shrouds, blood donors, and stretchers to transport the wounded. The hospital is barely functioning, and we are overwhelmed.”

The United Nations estimates that over 106,000 people in Khartoum are suffering from famine, while a further 3.2 million face severe hunger due to blockades and fighting.

The fighting in the capital follows a major offensive by the Sudanese army, which recently reclaimed Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazira State, from RSF forces.

On Saturday, an army-allied militia, the Sudan Shield Forces, claimed control of Tamboul, Rufaa, Al-Hasaheisa, and Al-Hilaliya, about 125 kilometres southeast of Khartoum.

However, RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo vowed retaliation, insisting that his forces would retake Khartoum.

“We expelled them before, and we will expel them again,” Daglo declared in a rare video address to his troops.

Since the war erupted in April 2023, greater Khartoum has been reduced to rubble, with entire neighbourhoods taken over by fighters.

An investigation by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that at least 26,000 people were killed in the capital alone between April 2023 and June 2024.

The United Nations has also declared famine in five areas, mostly in Darfur, with another five expected to follow by May.

The conflict has drawn global condemnation, with both Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo facing sanctions.

Before leaving office, the Joe Biden administration accused Burhan of attacking schools and using starvation as a weapon of war, while Washington sanctioned Daglo for orchestrating “gross human rights violations” and committing genocide against non-Arab minorities in Darfur.

Despite diplomatic pressure, Khartoum remains a battlefield, with millions trapped in a humanitarian catastrophe as the war shows no signs of ending.