ALBAWABA - At least 39 people, mostly women, and children, were killed on Tuesday in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, due to heavy ordnance on their homes during fighting between the Sudanese Armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The heavy ordnance is believed to have killed five families. The victims, including all members of five families, were killed in just one day, Gouja Ahmed, a human rights activist originally from Nyala, told CBS News on Monday, adding that some other families in the area had lost most of their family members.
According to the UN, over 50,000 people have been forced to flee Nyala since August 11, where communications networks have been effectively cut off due to the ferocity of the fighting.
It was unclear who was responsible for the attack, but fighting in Nyala has been raging for weeks between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with civilians caught in the crossfire.
Dr Arif Noor, Save the Children country director in Sudan, released a statement on Tuesday calling on leaders to better protect civilians.
The statement reads: "Explosives such as those used in Nyala are one of the many ways children are being killed and injured in Sudan. Rockets, mortars, grenades, mines, and improvised explosive devices are all causing children to suffer uniquely, and they are far more likely to die from blast wounds than adult casualties,".
“More needs to be done by the international community to pressure the warring parties to uphold the commitments they made in Jeddah in May 2023 where they declared to the world they would comply with international law not to harm children and their families," Dr. Noor added.
