At least 40 people have been killed in an aerial bombardment against a popular market located in the south of the metropolitan area of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where intense fighting is taking place between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR). It is the highest death toll in a single incident since the war in Sudan began in April.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the Khartoum South Emergency Room said the massacre occurred in the popular Quro market, located in the south of the metropolitan belt of the Sudanese capital. He added that the number of deaths could increase, while making an urgent appeal to all medical personnel in the area to provide help to the injured.
The area is mostly home to day laborers who lost their jobs after the conflict broke out and who are too poor to face the enormous cost of escaping the capital.
In a statement, the FAR blamed the Sudanese army for the bombing, as well as other recent attacks. The Sudanese army denied responsibility and blamed the FAR. “We only directed our attacks on enemy groups and stations in different areas,” General Nabil Abdallah told Reuters.
As the war between the army and paramilitaries approaches the five-month mark, neither side is declaring victory or showing concrete signs of seeking a negotiated solution.