Airstrike hits village market in Al-Jazira State
Relentless air campaign targets suspected gathering places of the RSF
An explosion ripped through a busy market at Kab al-Jiddad village in northern Al-Jazira State on Saturday evening, November 24, killing and wounding an unknown number of people.
The targeted village is quite far from the nearest frontline in territory controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Darfur-based paramilitary that rebelled last year against Sudan’s military-led government.
This attack follows a pattern of airstrikes by the Sudanese Air Force against markets in RSF-controlled territory. The Air Force appears to be trying to shut down or inhibit commercial activity that they think could help the RSF, directly or indirectly. They also may suspect that RSF fighters or their supporters are present in these markets.
Sudan’s Air Force generally lacks warplanes with the capability to identify and hit moving targets, making it difficult to hit RSF troops in the field. Typically, the RSF travel in Toyota Land Cruisers that blend in with the surrounding terrain.
Hence why the Air Force instead bombs stationary targets like markets and other suspected “gathering places” of the RSF. Several thousand civilians have been injured or killed in such attacks in Darfur, Kordofan, Al-Jazira, Khartoum, and elsewhere, according to our open source monitoring. Rarely, combatants are also killed.
In the aftermath of the attack Saturday, market stalls were left in tatters, fires blazed in parts of the market, and women were heard wailing and weeping, according to videos filmed at the scene.
The videos show several charred and mutilated bodies, which appear to be civilians, though it is difficult to tell. The person filming (an RSF combatant, judging by his words), asserted that the victims were all civilians, including women and children.
The Sudanese Armed Forces did not make any statement about the attack, but prominent pro-army influencers celebrated it, claiming the attack had killed RSF fighters. They circulated a video that they claimed was filmed inside the market before the attack, which showed RSF fighters sitting and walking through the market.
One army supporter wrote on Facebook, “The Kab Al-Jiddad market has become a market for minerals, drugs, and weapons trade, all of them are janjaweed and foreign mercenaries.” On the other hand, the RSF issued a brief written statement claiming that the attack killed more than 20 civilians. The paramilitary’s official spokesperson called the attack a “heinous massacre,” adding:
“The Rapid Support Forces condemn the targeting of defenseless citizens; extend their sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims, and renew their pledge to punish the killers and dismantle the regime of tyranny and corruption, to establish a state of peace and justice on its ruins.”
Sudanese media outlets did not report any further details about the attack, and all information available so far appears to come from open sources.
⚠️ Graphic content warning. Viewer discretion advised. Watch the above video instead for a less graphic and briefer view of the scene.
