Sudan’s army bombed the airport in the western city of Nyala on Tuesday, destroying the runway, control tower and offices, military sources said. The bombing also hit the headquarters of the 16th Infantry Division.
The airstrike came days after a large cargo plane landed at the airport, which various sources say unloaded shipments of heavy weapons.
No official statement has been issued regarding this plane, which landed in an area controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Military sources told Sudan Tribune that the airstrike led to the destruction of the runway, in addition to control towers, administrative offices, and halls within the service facility.
It was also revealed that the fighter jets destroyed modern jamming systems in Jabal Nyala, located east of the city. The sources also indicated that warehouses, which the RSF likely used to store military supplies near Al-Beir Ragheb Secondary School for Girls, were targeted.
The sources noted that the bombing also affected the headquarters of the 16th Infantry Division, which is controlled by the RSF, and other sites in the town of Kas, west of Nyala.
Nyala, the second-largest city in Sudan after Khartoum, has been subjected to continuous aerial bombardment by the Sudanese Air Force, resulting in the deaths of many civilians and the destruction of several homes and service facilities.
The armed forces justify their bombing of the city by stating that they are targeting the destruction of military supplies that they claim are being sent from the United Arab Emirates to the RSF in the capital of South Darfur before being transported to theatres of operations in Khartoum and other areas.
A statement issued by the spokesperson for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), received by Sudan Tribune, said: “In continuation of the plan to destroy infrastructure and spread chaos, the Air Force bombed Nyala Airport, the capital of South Darfur, at dawn on Tuesday, under orders from the butcher Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the leaders of the terrorist Islamic Movement.”
He explained that the attack, which he described as cowardly, aimed to obstruct the implementation of the measures and understandings agreed upon in the “Geneva talks,” where the RSF proposed to international partners to open the airports of “Nyala, El Geneina, Zalingei, and Al-Daien,” and operate them by the United Nations and its agencies as a lifeline to deliver necessary and urgent aid such as medicines and first aid, while international partners are working to study and implement the proposal to save the lives of Sudanese people from famine.
He strongly condemned the crimes of those he described as terrorists in destroying vital facilities. He renewed their demands to the United Nations and the Security Council to condemn the aerial bombardment of areas that are not witnessing military clashes.
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