SAF continue to enforce the Scorched Earth Policy in Nyala

The city of Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, has been subjected to new airstrikes carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in recent days, in a series of airstrikes that have continued for the fourth consecutive day, according to eyewitnesses.

On Sunday, the city of Nyala was subjected to an airstrike that claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and injured others, when the Sudanese Army’s warplanes dropped barrel bombs on a market and some of the city’s eastern neighborhoods.

Targeting Unarmed Citizens

In regards to the intensive and repeated targeting of the city of Nyala with airstrikes, journalist Abu Obeida Barghouth confirmed that “It’s part of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ adopted policy of targeting the social incubator of its opposition.”

Abu Obeida indicated, in a statement to (Erem News), that the strategy of targeting social incubators isn’t a new development when it comes to the Sudanese Army, as the latter has repeatedly adopted the same tactics to confront any armed rebellion against its policies.

He emphasized that targeting unarmed citizens is a strategy implemented with the aim of displacing and killing the people, in a blatant act of revenge for the rebellion of some of their own against the Army, according to him.

Barghouth added that “The policy of targeting social incubators pursued by the Sudanese Army focuses on targeting livestock, water sources, agricultural crops, markets, and service centers, in an effort to remove these groups from the economic cycle, rendering them homeless and dependent on aid for their livelihoods.”

Journalist Abu Obeida Barghouth pointed out that the Sudanese Army chose to implement similar tactics before in Darfur, when the Armed Movements declared a rebellion against its authority in (2003), hence, (SAF) deliberately targeted the social incubators of the leaders of those Movements according to the ‘Scorched Earth Policy’, which caused the displacement of approximately (6) million people who still -to this day- live in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and as refugees in neighboring countries.

Population Displacement

Abu Obeida Barghouth continued to state: “The events that took place in Nyala today comes within this framework, as the city is subjected to approximately (4 to 5) air sorties on a daily basis, despite the overwhelming number of residents, because the goal is to displace them,” he went on to stress that the airstrikes destroyed hospitals, service centers, homes, and markets.

The cities of (Nyala) in South Darfur and (Al-Koma) in North Darfur are among the areas most targeted by airstrikes carried out by the Sudanese Army, with residents confirming that the airstrikes targeted citizens’ homes and service institutions devoid of any form of military presence within or near them.

The Sudanese Army’s warplanes have previously targeted a number of cities and villages whose residents are considered to be social incubators of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), destroying service centers, water sources, and markets in North Darfur.

A Systematic Strategy

Human rights organizations monitoring the situation in Sudan, such as the Darfur Victims Support Organization (DVS) believe that “The intensive airstrikes carried out by the Sudanese Army’s warplanes on civilian areas aren’t random, but rather part of a systematic strategy aimed at destroying the social fabric and the local economy in Darfur.”

Indiscriminate Attacks

For its part, the “Emergency Lawyers” human rights organization shared that the city of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, has been subjected to a series of random attacks by warplanes, where the raids targeted residential neighborhoods, including “The airport, Al-Rahman, and the factories neighborhoods” using barrel bombs.

“These attacks are merely a part of an ongoing escalation campaign that -consequently- refute any claims about the airstrikes being limited to military targets, as the raids are deliberately targeting populated residential areas,” the organization shared in a statement.

The human rights organization stressed that targeting civilians in such a manner constitutes a war crime that cannot be tolerated.

The indiscriminate airstrikes of civilians and civilian objects constitutes a violation of the principles of International Humanitarian Law, and Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of (1949) and Additional Protocol II, which prohibit the targeting of civilians and civilian objects during armed conflicts.