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Activists: At Least 32 Killed in Sudanese Army Strikes

A man walks past a devastated a market area in al-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, on September 1, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
A man walks past a devastated a market area in al-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, on September 1, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
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Activists: At Least 32 Killed in Sudanese Army Strikes

A man walks past a devastated a market area in al-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, on September 1, 2023. (Photo by AFP)
A man walks past a devastated a market area in al-Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur state, on September 1, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

At least 32 civilians have been killed and dozens injured in artillery attacks by the Sudanese army on a town in Omdurman, one of the highest tolls from a single day of fighting since war broke out in April, the activist group Emergency Lawyers said on Wednesday.

Rights activists and residents say the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that are fighting for control of the country have fired missiles into populated areas, incurring hundreds of civilian casualties in the capital Khartoum, and other cities, according to Reuters.

While the RSF holds most of the ground in Khartoum and the cities of Omdurman and Bahri that make up the wider capital, the army has the edge in heavier artillery and aircraft.

The strike took place in the Ombada neighborhood in western Omdurman, the statement released on Wednesday said, a neighborhood that has seen several deadly strikes.

Earlier this week, military sources said the army had deployed large numbers of ground troops in Omdurman and was preparing for a large operation to attempt to cut off the RSF's main supply route into the capital from the Darfur region.

Local volunteers reported that 19 people had been killed in army strikes on Ombada on Sunday. Residents say large numbers fled the Ombada neighborhood on Wednesday.

The RSF has also been accused by activists and residents of damaging homes by firing anti-aircraft missiles and other artillery, as well as looting and occupying civilian neighborhoods.

"The use of heavy and light artillery in areas packed with civilians is a war crime ... and reflects a disregard for their lives," the Emergency Lawyers, who are pro-democracy legal activists, said.

They said the army and RSF would be brought to justice.

The factions, which fell out over internationally-backed plans to integrate their forces during a transition to democracy, have denied responsibility for strikes that have killed civilians.

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned the deputy head of the RSF for involvement in human rights abuses by his troops and had previously sanctioned companies linked to both sides.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.