Malha, December 22 (Darfur24)
More than ten people were killed, and others, including women and children, injured in a drone strike that targeted a market in the town of Al-Hara, Al-Malha locality in North Darfur State, eyewitnesses and local sources said on Sunday.
A resident of the Al-Malha area told Darfur24 that a drone believed to belong to the Sudanese army carried out an airstrike on a gathering of civilians at the Al-Hara market on Saturday, killing around ten people and injuring several others.
The source said the area has been experiencing high population density due to the influx of displaced people from several towns, including Half, Madu, and Jabal Issa, as well as from Al-Malha city itself. He added that the weekly market attracts traders from various parts of Darfur every Sunday.
The North Darfur Emergency Chambers Council condemned the drone strike on the Al-Hara market, saying the attack caused partial fires in several shops and resulted in significant material losses.
In a brief statement published on its official Facebook page and seen by Darfur24, the council described the targeting of a crowded civilian market as a crime and a dangerous escalation against civilians.
The council called on humanitarian and medical organizations to urgently intervene to evacuate and treat the wounded.
In a similar incident last November, about 11 civilians were killed and 18 others injured in a drone strike that targeted the Tagru mine market, located on the border between Northern State and the Darfur region, approximately 350 kilometers northeast of Al-Malha.
Areas under the control of the Rapid Support Forces across Darfur have been subjected to repeated aerial bombardment, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. The latest attacks occurred last week, targeting the city of Mellit and the Fataberno area in North Darfur, as well as the town of Kutum southwest of Nyala in South Darfur.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in intense fighting between the Sudanese army and its allies on one side and the Rapid Support Forces on the other, with drones increasingly used to strike both civilian and military targets.