An airstrike in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Saturday killed at least 17 people, including five children, health officials said, as fighting continued between rival generals seeking to control the country.
The attack was one of the deadliest of the clashes in urban areas of Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan between the military and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.
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There was no immediate comment Saturday from either side of the conflict on the strike, and it was not clear whether the attack was by warplanes or a drone. The military’s aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops and the RSF has reportedly used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.
The fighting broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF.
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At least 25 houses were destroyed, the ministry wrote in a Facebook post. File photo
Saturday’s strike hit the Yormouk neighbourhood in southern Khartoum, where clashes have centered in recent weeks, according to Sudan’s Ministry of Health. The area houses a military facility controlled by the army. At least 25 houses were destroyed, the ministry wrote in a Facebook post.
The dead included five children and an unknown number of women and elderly people, and some wounded people were hospitalised, the ministry said.
A local group that calls itself The Emergency Room and helps organize humanitarian aid in the area, said at least 11 people were wounded in the strike. It posted images it said were of houses damaged in the attack and people searching through rubble. Other images claimed to show a wounded girl and man.
The United States and Saudi Arabia announced late Saturday that the warring sides agreed on a 72-hour cease-fire across the African country. The new cease-fire would take effect Sunday morning Khartoum time, according to a joint US-Saudi statement.
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