Indiscriminate shelling kills 34 civilians in Sudan’s Omdurman

By Yaqut Dandashi

ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 34 Sudanese civilians were killed in indiscriminate shelling of a marketplace in Omdurman city, west of the capital Khartoum, according to the Health Ministry on Wednesday.

A number of children were among the victim, the ministry said in a brief statement.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack occurred at 8:00 a.m. local time (0600GMT) on Tuesday and lasted for three hours.

Most of the casualties were traders and transport vehicle owners, they said.

The party behind the attack was not yet clear.

There was no comment yet from the Sudanese army or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group on the report.

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, in a conflict that killed nearly 3,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medics.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the warring rivals had failed to end violence in the country.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that nearly three million people have been displaced by the current conflict in Sudan.

Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the ongoing conflict in Sudan may lead to a full-scale civil war.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara