Sudan violence escalates, warlords deny Darfur war crimes

According to eyewitnesses, there were airstrikes in the direction of Khartoum on Sunday, and fighting was going on in the Darfur region of Western Sudan։ the three-month war between the army and its rival warlords has no tendency to end.

"In the east and northwest of the capital, army fighter jets targeted bases belonging to the Rapid Support Force (RSF), and the latter responded with anti-aircraft weapons," witnesses told AFP.

At least five people were killed and 17 others injured in an explosion in the local district of Ombada, northwest of Khartoum, but the death toll is likely to rise as "more victims are pulled from the rubble."

RSF drones targeted Khartoum's largest military hospital, according to witnesses. A similar attack on the same facility on Saturday left five dead and 22 injured, the army said.

According to initial reports, the war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed around 3,000 people, but the actual death toll is believed to be much higher.

According to the International Organization for Migration, there are another three million internally displaced or refugees.

Diplomatic efforts to end the violence have continued, but have failed, and numerous cease-fires have been violated.

A government source told AFP on Saturday (the fourth month of the war) that an army delegation had returned to the Saudi city of Jeddah to resume ceasefire talks, but there were no reports from either the RSF or the mediators.

Witnesses reported "heavy clashes with the use of various types of weapons" in the town of Kas in Darfur region on Sunday.

In a statement, the military hailed its "major victory" in the town, as well as the decision by the East Darfur police force to "integrate into the RSF" after local tribal leaders in South Darfur also pledged allegiance to the warlords.

The court's chief prosecutor has launched a new investigation into suspected war crimes in the ongoing fighting, including sexual violence and the targeting of civilians because of their ethnicity.

It should be noted that in the early 2000s, the "Janjaweed" militia, which was armed, unleashed a war against ethnic minorities in Darfur.

According to UN estimates, the conflict claimed more than 300,000 lives and displaced 2.5 million people.

The atrocities committed at the time led the International Criminal Court to indict former dictator Omar al-Bashir for crimes including genocide.