Sudan Air Force Bombings Kill Over 1,700 Civilians, Investigation Finds

Sudan Witness Project Findings

• 🎯 An investigation by the Sudan Witness Project has concluded that at least 1,700 civilians have been killed in air strikes by Sudan's armed forces since the civil war began.
• ✈️ The project documented over 300 attacks by warplanes targeting residential neighborhoods, markets, schools, and displaced people's camps.
• 💣 Analysis indicates the air force has used unguided munitions in populated areas, with verified instances of bombs falling on displaced people's camps.

Military Response and Denials

• 🚫 The Sudanese Armed Forces have not responded to the BBC's request for comment but have previously denied targeting civilians.
• ⚖️ The army states its air strikes are solely directed at rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) locations, which they consider legitimate military targets.
• 🗣️ They accuse the RSF of taking shelter in residential areas and assert they uphold international humanitarian law.

Challenges in Verification

• ⚠️ The Sudan Witness Project acknowledges its findings are not entirely conclusive due to reliance on available information in a war zone, where telecommunications and verification are difficult.
• 🔍 Despite these challenges, by investigating hundreds of reported attacks, they identified patterns that could be confidently attributed to the Sudanese armed forces.

Evolving Conflict Dynamics

• 🚁 The conflict is increasingly becoming a drone war, with both the armed forces and the RSF utilizing drones, which are described as equally deadly as aircraft.
• ⚖️ Recent strikes, including one on a tribal council and another on a kindergarten, highlight the ongoing aerial attacks and the blame game between the two sides.
• 💔 A war monitor suggests that neither side has been highly effective militarily, and civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, describing it as a "war on civilians."