Sudan’s army claims dozens of RSF fighters killed in Nyala attack

Rapid Support Forces accuses army of killing 30 civilians in attack on Nyala’s busy livestock market.

Sudanese military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has promised to retake 'every inch' of territory under RSF control [File: AP]

The Sudanese army says it has killed dozens of fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a series of air attacks on the southwestern city of Nyala, but the paramilitary group says the military has killed civilians.

The targets of Friday’s attack were RSF positions and command centres in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state and the seat of the paramilitary group’s self-declared administration, the army said in a statement.

list 1 of 3 Drone strike kills 30 people in Sudan’s Blue Nile region

list 2 of 3 At least 72 Sudanese miners killed in air strike: Rights monitor

list 3 of 3 Conflict, drought increasing risk of famine in Sudan: Monitor

However, the RSF said the army carried out a drone attack on a busy livestock market, killing 30 civilians, including 17 women and five children.

The group has not confirmed or denied whether separate attacks by the army killed some of its fighters and destroyed its command centres.

Separately, the human rights group Emergency Lawyers said in a post on X that a market was hit on Friday in Nyala and the drone used was “affiliated” with the Sudanese army.

Reporting from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Almigdad Alruhaid said on Saturday that the fighting between the army and RSF has “intensified”.

“In South Kordofan, a source in the Sudanese government told Al Jazeera that RSF carried out drone attacks on mining sites with the exchange in fire intensifying in many parts of Sudan in the past 24 hours.”

The army has repeatedly targeted the Darfur region in western Sudan with drones to try to retake territory controlled by the RSF, which holds most of the area.

This month, Sudanese military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan promised to seize “every inch” of territory under RSF control.

The Sudanese civil war began in 2023 and has killed tens of thousands of people. The United Nations has described the situation in Sudan as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

快速支援部队指责军队在袭击尼亚拉繁忙的牲畜市场时杀害了 30 名平民。

苏丹军方首领阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·布尔汉承诺将收复快速支援部队控制的“每一寸”领土。[图片：美联社]

苏丹军方称，在对西南部城市尼亚拉的一系列空袭中，他们打死了数十名快速支援部队（RSF）的武装分子，但该准军事组织称，军方杀害了平民。

军方在一份声明中表示，周五袭击的目标是位于南达尔富尔州首府尼亚拉的快速支援部队阵地和指挥中心，尼亚拉是该准军事组织自封的行政中心所在地。

列表 1/3：无人机袭击导致苏丹青尼罗河地区 30 人死亡

名单 2/3：人权观察组织称，至少 72 名苏丹矿工在空袭中丧生

报告3/3：冲突和干旱加剧苏丹饥荒风险：监测机构

然而，快速支援部队表示，军队对一个繁忙的牲畜市场发动了无人机袭击，造成 30 名平民死亡，其中包括 17 名妇女和 5 名儿童。

该组织既未证实也未否认军队的单独袭击是否造成其部分武装人员死亡并摧毁其指挥中心。

另外，人权组织“紧急律师”在 X 上发帖称，周五尼亚拉的一个市场遭到袭击，使用的无人机与苏丹军队“有关联”。

半岛电视台记者阿尔米格达德·阿尔鲁海德周六从苏丹首都喀土穆报道称，军队与快速支援部队之间的战斗“加剧了”。

“苏丹政府的一位消息人士告诉半岛电视台，在过去24小时内，南科尔多凡州的快速支援部队对矿区发动了无人机袭击，苏丹许多地区的交火愈演愈烈。”

苏丹军队多次使用无人机袭击苏丹西部达尔富尔地区，试图夺回由快速支援部队控制的领土，快速支援部队控制着该地区的大部分领土。

本月，苏丹军方首脑阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·布尔汉承诺要夺取快速支援部队控制下的“每一寸”领土。

苏丹内战始于2023年，已造成数万人死亡。联合国将苏丹局势描述为世界上最严重的人道主义危机。