Sudan Air Force Bombing of Towns, Markets and Schools Has Killed Hundreds, Report Says

Looking at the research of the Sudan Witness Project, the Sudanese Air Force carried out at least 384 airstrikes from April 2023 to July 2025. More than 1,700 civilians lost their lives and 1,120 people were injured in these attacks. It is clear that the army targets settlements, markets, hospitals, schools and refugee camps with unguided bombs.

The report only focuses on attacks by Sudanese Armed Forces warplanes because the Rapid Support Forces do not have aircraft. However, it is known that they also carried out attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles.

Sudan Witness states that most of the attacks destroyed homes and civilian infrastructure, while 35 of the attacks hit marketplaces, and 19 hit hospitals, schools and refugee camps. For example, an Unexploded SH-250 bomb found in Zamzam camp in North Darfur is the same as unguided ammunition produced in Sudan.

Mark Snoeck, the head of the project, says that these attacks are very clear that the military has not made any serious efforts to protect civilians. In fact, he adds, "A country cannot claim that it is to bomb its own citizens with air forces and then defend the country." According to the preliminary report obtained by the BBC, Darfur and Kordofan are the regions most affected by the attacks. 65 people died and 200 people were injured in the bomb dropped on the Al-Kuma market alone.

At least 63 civilians, including women and children, lost their lives in Nyala, South Darfur, in the airstrikes in February 2025. Despite the army's claim that "we are only hitting RSF positions", satellite images and confirmed videos from the field show that the areas where civilians live were deliberately targeted. “The war in Sudan is actually being waged against civilians,” says Justin Lynch, director of the Conflict Insights Group, who monitors the flow of weapons to Sudan.

He emphasizes that both SAF and RSF use disproportionate force and hit civilians and their infrastructure rather than military targets. Lynch points out that both sides use air raids not to gain a military advantage, but to intimidate and punish the civilian population by the other side. In recent months, RSF has targeted civilian settlements in different cities of Sudan, similar to drones.

After all, the Sudan Witness report shows that this war is not limited to ground conflicts, but that systematic and indiscriminate airstrikes make the war even more bloody and deep. The report provides strong evidence that both sides committed war crimes. 
 
RESOURCES:

Khalil, H. (2025, December 10). US sanctions network it says recruits Colombian fighters for Sudan's civil war. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93nxqw00xxo