UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned an air strike in Sudan that killed at least 22 people, causing scores of injuries.
The strike occurred in western Omdurman city, as the war between Sudan’s military factions entered its 12th week. Guterres is also appalled by large-scale violence and casualties in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Guterres “remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region”, Haq said.
He added: “There is an utter disregard for humanitarian and human rights law that is dangerous and disturbing.”
He is also concerned about renewed fighting in North Kordofan, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile States, citing a disregard for humanitarian and human rights law.
He called for the Sudanese Armed Forces and its rival Rapid Support Forces to cease fighting and commit to a durable cessation of hostilities.
Around 3,000 people have been killed in the conflict, survivors have reported a wave of sexual violence and witnesses have spoken of ethnically targeted killings. There has been widespread looting, and the UN warned of possible crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.
A video posted by the health ministry on Facebook showed apparently lifeless bodies after the airstrike, including several women. The narrator says that residents “counted 22 dead”.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fighting the regular army, claimed that the strike killed 31.
Since the war began, paramilitaries have established bases in residential areas, and they have been accused of forcing civilians from their homes.
