Sudan: Shelling of market in Khartoum by Sudanese army kills 27 civilians as ceasefire talks break down

Twenty-seven people have been killed and 106 injured after a market in one of Khartoum’s poorest residential areas was shelled on Wednesday.

Six tank shells were fired from the army-controlled area of al-Shajara towards the neighbourhood of Mayo, according to local residents. 

The Sudanese Doctors Syndicate originally reported on Thursday that nineteen people had been killed. The number has now risen to twenty-seven, with more fatalities expected, since many of the injured were unable to get to hospitals amid Sudan’s internecine conflict.

Mayo is largely populated by civilians who have not been able to afford to flee Sudan since fighting broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in April.

The neighbourhood is not close to any military target in the Sudanese capital, around 90 percent of which is controlled by the RSF.

“The medical staff at Bashair Teaching Hospital have experienced great pressure due to the large number of casualties and the lack of medical staff”, a statement put out by the Sudanese Doctors Union said.

“We call all doctors who are nearby to come to the hospital so they can help as much as possible”, the statement concluded. 

The attack came a day after US-Saudi ceasefire talks broke down.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the army and de facto leader of the country, said that the army would pull out of the ceasefire talks, accusing the RSF of failing to honour commitments it had agreed to.

Al-Burhan, in a speech to soldiers at the army headquarters, said that they would be “obliged” to use “deadly force against the enemy if it does not comply and respond”.

Both sides have violated the truce that was supposed to allow for the opening up of safe corridors for civilians to leave.

On the same day as the shelling of Mayo, the army resumed the heavy shelling of Omdurman, allegedly targeting the RSF-held national TV station. 

At least 865 civilians have been killed since the conflict in Sudan broke out, though the true number of fatalities is likely to be much higher.

Some 1.2 million people have been internally displaced, with a further 400,000 fleeing across the borders to neighbouring countries, according to the UN.