Nairobi, June 4(Darfur24)
Human Rights Watch HRW announced on Wednesday that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) killed large numbers of civilians in indiscriminate attacks, “constituting a war crime” in the city of Nyala, South Darfur.
In a recent report, the organization said that the army launched attacks using unguided bombs dropped from the air on residential and commercial neighborhoods in Nyala in early February. It stated that “launching indiscriminate attacks, intentionally or recklessly, is a war crime.”
It added that “the attacks were indiscriminate because the bombs used have wide-area effects and limited accuracy and, in most cases, cannot be directed at a specific military objective in populated areas.”
In its report, the organization called on the Sudanese army to immediately cease all indiscriminate attacks and called on other countries to punish the Sudanese Air Force leadership for these attacks.
“The Sudanese military bombed densely populated residential and commercial neighborhoods in Nyala with inaccurate bombs,” said Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, senior crisis, conflict, and arms researcher at Human Rights Watch. “These attacks killed dozens of men, women, and children, destroyed families, and sowed fear and displacement.”
Human Rights Watch confirmed receiving credible reports of numerous airstrikes between November 2024 and February 2025. Researchers also conducted detailed investigations into five airstrikes on February 3, which particularly injured and killed civilians.
Researchers interviewed 11 victims and witnesses, as well as three medical personnel who treated victims, and analyzed photos and videos from social media, including those showing remnants of munitions from three of the strikes, according to the report.
For his part, Sudanese Army Spokesperson Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah rejected the Human Rights Watch report, saying, “The allegations contained in the report regarding the bombing of civilians in Nyala are false and contrary to reality.” He added, “We believe these reports are biased and part of an international plot targeting Sudan and its people.”