Port Sudan, March 27(Darfur24)
The United Nations said on Wednesday that it had received reports of the deaths of hundreds of civilians, including 13 members of one family, following an airstrike carried out by the Sudanese army on the popular market in the Tora area of North Darfur state.
On Monday, a warplane launched airstrikes targeting the weekly market in the town of Tora, located 40 kilometers north of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, setting fire to shops and charring several bodies.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement on Wednesday that he was deeply shocked by reports of hundreds of civilians being killed and dozens injured as a result of airstrikes carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces on a crowded market in the village of Tora, North Darfur.
He added, “My Office learned that 13 of the dead belonged to one family, and that reports indicate that some of the injured died due to severely limited access to health care. We have also received reports that, following the attack, members of the Rapid Support Forces arbitrarily arrested and detained civilians in Tora.”
He warned that despite his repeated warnings and appeals to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to protect civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, “civilians continue to be indiscriminately killed, injured, and ill-treated on an almost daily basis, while civilian objects remain a frequent target.”
Türk reiterated his call on both parties to take all necessary measures, as required by law, to avoid harming civilians and avoid attacking civilian objects, noting that indiscriminate attacks and attacks on civilians and civilian objects are unacceptable and may constitute war crimes.
He stressed the need for full accountability for violations committed in this latest attack, and in the many other attacks that preceded it against civilians, adding, “This behavior must never become normal.” For her part, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta Salami, condemned the airstrike on the Tora market in North Darfur on Wednesday.
In a statement, she said that the airstrike targeted the Tora market, 40 kilometers north of El Fasher, North Darfur, killing and wounding dozens of civilians.
She added that the market, which was supposed to be a place of daily life and a source of livelihood, was transformed into a scene of destruction.
The statement continued, “This horrific act is yet another stark reminder of the growing disregard for human life and international humanitarian law in this conflict.”
The UN official strongly condemned all deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, stressing that markets, hospitals, schools, mosques, and private homes are not battlefields.
“These attacks are not only unlawful, they are morally reprehensible. They must not be allowed to continue without consequences. The rights of civilians must be protected and their safety ensured as a matter of urgency,” she said.