The survivor of the catastrophic fighting to have recently hit the city of Nyala in Sudan’s Darfur region has told about the terror of being caught up in a bombing raid.
Darfur is the birth place of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been in a bitter power struggle with the army for control of the country since April.
It fighters, along with allied Arab militias, have been hiding out in residential neighbourhoods of Nyala – sometimes drawing fire from the military. Residents have been caught in the crossfire.
“We woke up at 6am to the sound of drones and anti-aircraft guns,” the woman, who asked not to be named for her own safety, about the morning in late August.
“Then we heard sounds of clashes at a very close distance at about 7am. We live in a central neighbourhood, where the first bomb fell next to my grandfather’s house, then the second fell on the next street, killing a man and wounding one of the residents. Another bomb fell on a house, but no-one was hit.”
She explained how residents, mainly women and children, would go to hide from the fighting under the Taiba Bridge. They did so that morning.
“We left our homes and sought refuge near the north-west section of the bridge, then a bomb fell in the southern direction as some women were running towards the shelter,” she said.
“This bomb hit and killed them.”
Part of the bridge was destroyed – and she described terrible scenes of mangled bodies.
“I broke down when I saw people cut into pieces by bombs which killed 28 people in one moment. Most of these victims were women and children, I know them well because they were living in the neighbourhoods near my district.