ALBAWABA - A gas station in a paramilitary-controlled area of Khartoum was shelled on Sunday, killing 28 civilians, according to a volunteer rescue network in Sudan.
"28 people were confirmed dead" in the incident, while "the number of injured reached 37, including 29 burns cases" and others with shrapnel wounds were also reported by the South Belt Emergency Response Room, a youth-led volunteer organization.
Since April 2023, the Sudanese army has been engaged in a violent battle with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and it has been moving closer to the capital in an attempt to take Khartoum away from the paramilitaries.
In late November, the Sudanese army reported that it was regaining control of Sinja, the capital of Sennar state south of Khartoum. This was a significant victory since Sinja is strategically vital, located on a key road connecting army-held territories in eastern and central Sudan.
While the army strives to regain territory, the RSF has solidified its control over western Darfur, ravaged central Sudan's agricultural heartlands, and advanced into the army-dominated southeast, compounding the already severe humanitarian situation.
Khartoum has been ravaged by the war that broke out between army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The RSF was able to drive the army out of a large portion of the capital early in the conflict.
Since then, the Burhan-aligned government has moved to Port Sudan, a city on the Red Sea coast that is still ruled by the army.
Tens of thousands of civilians were killed and over 11 million have been displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict, which has caused immense misery for people everywhere. The problem has been dubbed the largest displacement emergency in the world by the UN.
