Sudan Air Strikes Claim Lives of Children Amid Escalating Violence
Khartoum, Sudan – In a tragic escalation of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, volunteer rescuers reported that an army air strike in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday killed at least 20 people, including four children. The strike also left 27 others wounded, with many victims suffering severe injuries, according to the emergency response room (ERR) based in Khartoum’s south belt.
This attack adds to a growing death toll across the country, particularly in Al-Jazira state, where fierce clashes and violence erupted over the weekend after a paramilitary commander defected to the regular army. Activists have reported that over 50 people have died since the fighting began on Sunday, including a devastating air strike on a mosque in Wad Madani that resulted in 31 fatalities.
Local resistance committees criticized the army for allegedly using "barrel bombs" during the mosque strike, and rescue efforts have been complicated by the high number of unidentified victims, many of whom were described as “charred” and mutilated. As rescuers sift through the chaotic aftermath, they emphasize the urgent need for humanitarian aid to the civilians caught in the crossfire.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and has triggered the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, as both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue their brutal struggle for control of Al-Jazira state—the nation’s pre-war breadbasket.
The recent violence has been partly fueled by the defection of RSF commander Abu Aqla Kaykal to the army, which the military claims has bolstered its ranks. In a statement, a spokesman for army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan indicated that Kaykal and his defectors would be granted “amnesty," while warning of potential retaliatory attacks on civilians.
Witnesses reported chaotic scenes in Tamboul, a town recently claimed by the army, where RSF fighters allegedly engaged in random gunfire and forced residents to carry looted goods. An RSF source later confirmed that their forces had repelled an army attempt to reassert control over the area.
Human rights organizations and local activists have condemned both sides for committing war crimes, targeting civilians indiscriminately and obstructing humanitarian aid. In the latest surge of violence, at least 20 additional deaths have been reported in paramilitary attacks in eastern Al-Jazira, as activists accuse the RSF of conducting “vengeful operations” against defenseless civilians in apparent retribution for Kaykal’s defection.
As violence reigns across Sudan, international observers continue to call for urgent interventions to address the humanitarian crisis, and to protect civilians from the catastrophic fallout of the ongoing conflict.
