Dozens killed, including children, in SAF attacks targeting IDP shelters in West Kordofan

Eight civilians, amongst whom are children and internally displaced persons (IDPs), were killed and others sustained varying injuries in an airstrike that targeted two schools used as shelters for IDPs in the city of Abu Zabad, West Kordofan state. The most recent attack is a new escalation that exacerbates the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.

 

According to a statement issued by Abu Zabad Emergency Room, the bombing was carried out by two warplanes that dropped bombs on Osama Bin Zaid School and Al-Wifaq School, in addition to nearby homes, tragically claiming the lives of eight people in the process, including:

 

Maryam Balila Al-Wakil (45 years old) – displaced from Habila

 

Scertaera Al-Basha Hassan (60 years old) – displaced from Habila

 

Nasreen Mirghani Ahmed (19 years old) – displaced from Omdurman

 

Hanan Qadim (19 years old) – displaced from Omdurman

 

Ismail Abdel Hamid Al-Haj (16 years old)

 

Ibrahim (16 years old)

 

Mustafa Abdel Hamid Al-Haj (5 years old)

 

Mustafa Ibrahim Mustafa (12 years old)

 

Furthermore, a number of civilians were injured, including:

 

Jamela Saeed Al-Zaid (25 years old) – displaced

 

Bara’ah Abdel Hamid Al-Haj (5 years old)

 

Abdel Hamid Al-Haj (49 years old) – Head of the household

 

Nasr Ek-Din Abdul Hamid al-Hajj (19 years old)

 

Mahasin Mustafa (14 years old) – Displaced from Habila

 

Hadiya Abdullah Ali Abbakar (7 years old) – Displaced from Habila

 

The Emergency Room confirmed that the attack didn’t target any military sites, but rather constituted a documented war crime, especially since the two targeted schools had been used as shelters for displaced persons since the outbreak of the armed conflict in the country. The statement indicated that the most recent incident came less than a month after a previous airstrike that targeted a girls’ secondary school in the same city, reflecting a recurring pattern of targeting civilians and their vital facilities.

 

The Emergency Room expressed its strong condemnation of what it described as “the repeated campaigns against civilians,” stressing that such attacks have no military justification and constitute a flagrant violation of the International Humanitarian Law. In addition, it called on the international community to urgently intervene to protect civilians and stop the ongoing pattern of targeting shelters as well as educational facilities in conflict zones.