Zalingei , February 9(Darfur24)
The civilian administration affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces RSF in Central Darfur State condemned, on Saturday, the airstrikes launched by the army on Zalingei, the capital of the state, calling on the United Nations to monitor and condemn these brutal acts.
It said, in a statement obtained by Darfur24, that the airstrikes on Al-Thawra neighborhood in the city of Zalingei on Saturday morning led to the killing of three citizens and the injury of others, including women and children, in addition to the destruction of homes and damage to property.
The civilian administration stressed that the bombing of civilians represents a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and is a racist and targeting unarmed civilians.
The civilian authority added: “Targeting civilians with explosive barrels, killing them and destroying their homes constitutes a full-fledged war crime and a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit indiscriminate attacks and directing strikes at non-combatants.”
In the same context, the spokesman for the Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees Camps, Adam Rijal, said that the airstrikes on Zalingei resulted in deaths and injuries among civilians.
He added: “The bombing of citizens by the army is not new, for decades civilians in Darfur have been targeted in this barbaric manner on the basis of race, color and social affiliation, with the aim of killing, oppression, rape, forced displacement and homelessness.”
He called on the army leaders to change what he described as the barbaric and shameful behavior towards citizens who live in extremely difficult living conditions, to the point that some of them no longer have enough to eat.
The army has intensified its airstrikes on various areas of Darfur such as Nyala, Al-Koma and Kulbus, where the army is accused of deliberately bombing civilian infrastructure and civilian homes.