Feb. 1 (UPI) — More than 50 people were killed in Sudan Saturday after artillery explosions at an outdoor vegetable market.
At least 158 more people were injured in the attacks, which were carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group, according to government officials.
The attacks took place at a market in the Sudanese city of Omdurman, the country’s second-largest metropolis, which has a population of more than 2.3 million people.
“We strongly condemn the treacherous terrorist attack launched today by the rebellious Rapid Support Forces militia on Sabreen Market in Omdurman, which resulted in numerous innocent civilian casualties, including children, women, and the elderly, as well as widespread destruction of both private and public property,” Sudan’s Minister of Culture and Information, Khalid Ali said on X.
“This criminal act adds to the bloody record of this militia, following its bombing of the city of El Fasher, displaced persons camps, residential neighborhoods in Omdurman, and other areas of Sudan. It constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
On Friday, the leader of the RFS group, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, committed to a new offensive after losing ground, according to local news reports.
Daglo, who is known as “Hemetti” to his followers, made the announcement a day after Sudan’s military said it made significant gains in Khartoum Bari or North, not far from the capital of Khartoum.
The advances came amid heavy fighting between the Sudanese military and RFS troops.
The two sides have been embroiled in a bloody civil war since April 2023, pitting Daglo against Sudan’s de facto ruler, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who became leader of the transitional government in 2019.
Last month, the United States accused the RSF and the sub-groups it controls, of committing genocide.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleged the group routinely engages in systematic murder and sexual violence targeting individuals based on their ethnicity.
The group is also believed to be responsible for carrying out a drone attack at a Sudanese hospital last week that killed at least 70 people.
