Khartoum, May 13 (Darfur24)
At least eight civilians were killed and several others injured in artillery shelling and drone strikes targeting residential and civilian areas in South Kordofan and Darfur, amid a widening escalation of aerial and ground attacks across western Sudan.
In South Kordofan State, sources said five civilians, including a woman, were killed on Tuesday after artillery shelling struck residential neighborhoods in the city of Dilling. The attacks were attributed to the SPLM-North and the Rapid Support Forces.
Sources in Dilling told Darfur24 that the shelling targeted the western and northern parts of the city during the morning hours, killing civilians, including Mohamed Omar and Ismail Sals, while several others sustained injuries.
Residents of Dilling have endured months of heavy artillery bombardment and drone attacks since March, resulting in growing civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions, particularly after Dilling Teaching Hospital went out of service following a drone strike earlier this year.
In West Darfur State, three civilians, including an elderly man in his nineties, were killed in drone strikes targeting multiple locations in El Geneina, according to local sources.
Witnesses told Darfur24 that one of the strikes hit a civilian vehicle transporting passengers, killing three people and injuring others, including a woman.
Another strike targeted areas near the central market in eastern El Geneina, killing livestock, destroying a vehicle, and damaging nearby homes and shops.
Sources also reported that a separate airstrike destroyed a military vehicle, though no casualties among the soldiers were reported.
El Geneina has witnessed repeated air attacks in recent months as fighting continues across Darfur, where civilians increasingly face the impact of drone warfare and shelling.
The attacks come amid a broader escalation across the Darfur region. Earlier this week, drones struck military and civilian targets in Al-Daein, East Darfur, including the residences of senior Rapid Support Forces officials, injuring guards and civilians.
In North Darfur, commercial vehicles in Karnoi were bombed by a drone on Monday, injuring civilians and destroying the vehicles, while in South Darfur, drones believed to belong to the Sudanese army targeted Rapid Support Forces sites and commanders’ homes in Nyala.