Khaled Musa Yahya was outside of his home, working to provide for his two children when the Army’s warplanes launched an aerial attack on his house in Al-Jumhuriya neighborhood in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, which has been a constant target for airstrikes.
Khaled told (Darfur 24) that when he saw the warplanes flying in the skies of Nyala the day before yesterday (Monday), he didn’t believe this particular airstrike would claim the lives of his two children, Muhannad and Mohammed.
He added, in a faltering voice, “I was outside the house while the warplane was dropping barrel bombs, and I didn’t know that they were falling and claiming the lives of my children. When i went back home, I found that my children were gone forever.”
Khaled is but one of dozens of families who lost their women, children and men as a result of the airstrikes over the past few days.
Citizen Abdulrahman Musa told (Darfur 24) that the intensive and repeated aerial bombardment of Nyala is intended to displace the population.
He posed the question: “Where do we go in light of the economic conditions that the citizens of Nyala are experiencing due to the ongoing war?”
The Death Toll has Risen
The death toll from the ongoing airstrikes on the city of Nyala over the past five days has risen to (55) casualties, according to medical sources and eyewitness’ accounts.
In regards to the airstrikes casualties, (Darfur 24) has managed to obtain a number of their names, including; Mu’ataz Yahya Fadul and his wife En’am Al-Sayer, Tayseer Siddiq and her four children, Najm Al-Din Al-Sayed, a rickshaw driver, Muhannad Khalid, Mohammed Khalid, Sheikh Bilal, Aisha Tanqashiya, Mansour Babiker, Jawhar Abdel-Moneim Mustafa, Sheikh and his wife Afrah, and Saeed Shishay.
The brothers Muntaser, Othman and Musa Harir were killed in the airstrikes, in addition to Muntaser Adel, Tona Mohammed, Haroun Hamid, Nasr Al-Din Abbakar Hassan, Suleiman Al-Tahir, Karima Adam and Abbakar Ibrahim.
However, because the bodies scattered across the Cinema and Al-Jumhuriya Streets were in a charred state before being brought to hospitals and health centers, (Darfur24) was unable to obtain all the names of the victims.
Eyewitnesses told (Darfur24) that there were (16) bodies completely charred in the Cinema Street in the city center, (12) bodies of which were inside a vehicle coming from the city of (Ed-Daein), hence, their identities weren’t confirmed, after the car caught fire due to the bombing.
The aerial bombardment caused widespread destruction to the homes of citizens in Al-Naseem, Al-Jumhuriya and the factories neighborhoods.
Details of the Airstrikes
The warplanes have noticeably intensified their air strikes on the city of Nyala since Friday morning, January 31st, reaching (8) air sorties per day on densely populated residential areas.
An Antonov 66 aircraft dropped barrel bombs, a number of which targeted densely populated residential areas, such as; Al-Jumhuriya, the Cinema, Al-Wadi, the factories and Al-Matar neighborhoods in addition to the new industrial zone.
A correspondent for (Darfur 24) reported the closure of most of the shops, cafes and pharmacies in the city center for fear of renewed aerial attacks.
