North Darfur witnessed another deadly aerial bombardment on Thursday targeting civilians, as Turkish-made drones operated by the Sudanese army struck the popular Al-Zurq market. The attack left dozens of women, children, and traders dead or wounded.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the market was crowded with civilians and contained no military targets. They reported that the bombardment completely destroyed the market — built of straw and local materials — reducing it to rubble.
This latest incident adds to a series of similar attacks that have devastated markets and residential neighborhoods across Sudan in recent months. The ongoing violence follows months of intensified clashes in El-Fasher and other parts of Darfur, where civilians remain trapped amid widespread destruction and displacement.
As fighting escalates across several regions, UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned on Thursday that civilians face the imminent risk of large-scale atrocities and urged immediate action for their protection.
“Atrocities are not inevitable; they can be averted if all actors take concrete action to uphold international law, demand respect for civilian life and property, and prevent the continued commission of atrocity crimes,” Türk said in a UN statement.
ICC case filed against Port Sudan leaders
Meanwhile, on September 25, the Sudanese Alliance for Human Rights announced that it had filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against four senior leaders of the Port Sudan Authority, accusing them of committing serious violations against civilians and using chemical weapons during the war.
The lawsuit names Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Yasser al-Atta, Shams al-Din al-Kabbashi, and General al-Tahir Mohamed. The organization said it is working with a team of international lawyers and that the evidence provided warrants a full investigation and prosecution of those responsible.
In addition to the ICC filing, the Alliance announced that it has submitted an official complaint to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights regarding these violations and the alleged use of chemical weapons, and another to the president of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The case follows widespread reports of mass detentions and torture in Al-Jazeera State, adding to mounting evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both warring sides.
A nation in peril
The escalating violence across Sudan has left millions displaced, with entire towns destroyed and livelihoods shattered. Factories, markets, and residential areas have become routine targets of drone and artillery fire, deepening a humanitarian crisis that has already been described as one of the world’s worst.
Children, in particular, remain among the most vulnerable, caught in the crossfire between warring factions. A NOWinSA investigation revealed that thousands have been deprived of education, healthcare, and basic safety — their childhoods stolen under the shadow of war.
Disinformation has further fueled confusion on the ground, with misleading viral videos spreading across social media, complicating efforts to document and verify atrocities accurately.
