14 Civilians Killed in RSF Drone Strike on Civilian Gathering in Khartoum

Smoke from fuel stores at Khartoum airport as fighting intensifies on April 16, 2023

July 19, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – At least 14 people were killed in a drone strike conducted by the Rapid Support Forces on a gathering of civilians south of the capital, Khartoum, on Wednesday.

As the war enters its fourth month, the paramilitary forces have escalated their tactics, employing drones and MANPADS (Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems) against the Sudanese army, a development observed earlier last month.

“The rebel militias targeted civilians who gathered to welcome the army soldiers in the areas of Al-Azuzab and Wad Ajeeb with a drone. The attack led to the death of 14 civilians and the wounding of 15 others,” stated the Sudanese army spokesman.

The military official further disclosed that the army managed to destroy about 9 RSF combat vehicles and killed a number of its fighters while repelling an attack in the Al-Ashra area and Al-Dabbasin Bridge in Abu Adam, south of Khartoum.

Additionally, the army’s special forces in the Jabal Awlia area seized a large number of weapons hidden by the paramilitary militia, including 12 machine guns, a Dushka machine gun, and a substantial number of automatic rifles.

The ongoing war has had severe repercussions, with over two million and a half people forced to leave Khartoum as a result of the escalating conflict.

According to witnesses who spoke to Sudan Tribune, the Sudan Air Force intensified their sorties on Wednesday, targeting RSF sites in Omdurman and Khartoum North. Meanwhile, the Sudanese army shelled the positions of the paramilitary forces in Old Omdurman and several locations in Saliha, south of Omdurman.

In the southern part of Khartoum, RSF reinforcements arrived in various areas of the Kalakla suburb. Witnesses reported that the militiamen allegedly looted shops in the Laffa market and occupied residential homes, continuing a pattern of such actions observed since last April.

(ST)