A devastating attack in Omdurman as the army advances in the capital

3 February 2025

As the battle over the capital continues in Sudan, shelling has killed an estimated 60 civilians in Omdurman on Saturday, with both warring parties trading blame over the devastation. 

According to a press release from the Sudanese Ministry of Health under the de-facto government of Sudan’s national army, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted Sabreen Market in north Omdurman on 1 February, Saturday morning, killing 56 people and wounding 106 others.  There is a possibility of an increase in the number of victims, the statement said, as some are trapped under the rubble.

The RSF, however, have denied responsibility and claim it was the national army that fired into the market from the Al-Thawrat area. This denial, however, has been heavily refuted by residents on the ground.  

Military operations in Sudan have intensified since the beginning of January, with the army regaining control of several strategic areas, including the Signal Corps in Bahri, one of the largest military installations in the city, along with their headquarters in Khartoum.

“Don’t pay attention to their advances through Al-Ingaz or Al-Mouna Street or entered the general command,” RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (aka “Himedti”) said in a televised address to his forces. “They will not enjoy it. Nor will they enjoy the Signal Corps, I want you to focus on what we are going to take.”

Horrific scenes

The shelling took place at a time of day when Sabreen Market was most populated, says local resident Mohammed Abu Bakr. “I rushed out to Sabreen market, when I arrived, I found military forces deployed in the area, and ambulance teams present to treat the dead and wounded,” Abu Bakr said. “It was a terrible scene, with blood flowing on the asphalt road and others crushed under collapsed buildings.” 

After other markets and shoppings centres in Omdurman were destroyed in Sudan’s now nearly 22-month long conflict, Sabreen Market transformed into a large shopping centre, serving a large population in the north Omdurman area. 

“I was in Sabreen Market with my two kids when I heard the sounds of bombing,” said local resident Jihad Ahmed. “Less than three minutes later, they struck the heart of the vegetable market, where children and women work selling produce. The market was packed with people due to Ramadan preparations; I was only fifty meters away from the victims, he added. 

Al-Nau Hospital

According to witnesses on the ground, many dead and wounded were transferred to Al-Nau Hospital in Omdurman, which was transformed into a large tent filled with the relatives of the wounded and medical teams who tried, with limited capabilities, to save the critically wounded.

Mohaned*, a volunteer with the local Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) – a network of local voluntary initiatives to support the conflict-affected – said they transported the critically injured to Sawa’id Hospital for first aid and then to Al-Nau Hospital. “When there are casualties, everyone goes to Al-Nau Hospital because it has a free emergency department and a morgue,” he added. “But now there’s an urgent need for gauze, IV fluids,  and surgical equipment.”

Chris Lokyear, The General Secretary of the international medical charity, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), was in Al Nau hospital as patients started arrive after the attack. “I can see the lives of men, women, and children torn apart with injured people lying in every possible space in the emergency room as medics do what they can,” he said. “What I see in front of me is a scene of utter carnage, yet another tragic example of this relentless war on people,” he said in a statement.

Since the army regained signifanct areas of the capital, the conflict has intensified, Mohaned told Ayin. “This shelling used to happen at predictable times, either in the morning or afternoon, lasting for two hours and then stopping. Now, the shelling goes on all day, even until 10 pm and after midnight.” New areas are also being targeted by the RSF in recent month, he added, targeting markets, shops and clinics in the western districts of Omdurman. This includes the shelling of a school classroom last week used by the conflict-displaced in the 11th district of Al-Thawra, Omdurman, he added, killing eight people and injuring 11 others. 

More shelling, less medicine

While the shelling in Omdurman increases, the medicine and facilities to handle emergencies in the area remain in short supply, says Amhed Zuhair, a member of the Sudanese American Physician Association (SAPA). “In the Umbuda area, there are no hospitals, only health centers without emergency departments, which is what most citizens desperately need,” he told Ayin.  “It’s a matter of luck whether you injured or not. If shelling happens in a crowd of people, the consequences are likely what happened last Saturday,” he added.

A volunteer* with the Al-Nau Hospital and member of the Al-Karari ERRs, told Ayin the hospital has faced multiple attacks since the beginning of the war. What took place last Saturday is part of a harrowing cycle of violence. “This is not the first time we’ve been bombed – these horrific scenes are repeating themselves,” the volunteer said, requesting anonymity for security reacons. “Exactly one year ago, on this same date, shells fell near Al-Nau Hospital and the Sabreen market. Within half an hour, we were overwhelmed with dead and wounded.” This latest attack, however, is the worst yet, the volunteer told Ayin, with over 200 wounded and over 60 deaths recorded. 

“The situation inside the hospital is terrifying. We are desperately short of medical staff, essential drugs, and medical supplies. Citizens don’t have enough money to buy medicine, so we try to provide them on loan and seek reimbursement later through donations on social media.”

Two shells also landed near Al-Nau Hospital on the day of the incident, said Abdo* another ERR volunteer at the hospital. Abdo told Ayin the RSF routinely target civilian areas such as markets and hospitals, even openly admitting to this via social media. Ayin has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of this footage. 

Fleeing the city

While some Sudanese civilians welcomed the army’s advances into the capital, even returning to the area, others are fleeing. According to local residents, civilians from the Darfur or South Kordofan regions and live in the RSF-controlled areas of the capital fear the army and aligned militias may falsely accuse them of being “RSF collaborator”.

Such fears may be warranted. After the army re-established control of Wad Medani, the capital of Al-Jazeera State, among other areas, the army and allied militias have conducted what has been called “revenge campaigns”, claiming the inhabitants have cooperated with the Rapid Support Forces. 

Witnesses from the capital monitored dozens of cars crossing the Jebel Awliya Bridge coming from east of the Nile and south of Khartoum, heading towards the Bara-Omdurman road, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. Similar vehicles are also moving from the Kandahar area, west of the Libya Market in Omdurman, to western Sudan, amid a significant increase in the price of travel tickets.

“All the civilians who decided to leave Khartoum have roots in Darfur, and some of them belong to the same social components as most of the Rapid Support Forces fighters, and they were living in poor humanitarian conditions throughout the war,” said local resident Khalifa Jeddo.

“Despite the recent departure of thousands to Darfur, many families are still stuck in the cities of Khartoum, East Nile and Omdurman. They were unable to leave due to the high travel costs, which reached 600,000 Sudanese Pounds per person (roughly $300), which are large sums that are not available to someone who has been under the fire of war for nearly two years,” he added. According to Jeddo, the RSF are capitalising in transporting citizens to the Darfur and Kordofan regions, charging amounts that few can afford. Many families had no choice but to surrender and stay in their homes in the three cities of the Sudanese capital.

Hussein Adam, a citizen stuck in West Omdurman, says he cannot afford the ticket to cover one person in his family, even if he sells all the furniture in his house. “Every day, the chances of escape and survival are diminishing. We have packed our bags, waiting for relief to leave to any safe destination. Those trapped in the areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces will not be able to go to the east or the north, which is controlled by the army. They have no choice but to travel to the regions of Kordofan and Darfur.”

Last Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his grave concern over reports of summary executions of civilians by fighters and militia allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces in Khartoum Bahri, reiterating his call for an immediate end to such attacks.

* Names have been partially ommitted for security concerns