RSF says Sudan's army launches air strikes on paramilitary stronghold Nyala

"Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group says the country's army struck a fuel market in the city of Nyala, the RSF's administrative capital, as part of an intensified aerial campaign against its positions in South Darfur. For three consecutive days ending Thursday, military drones and warplanes pounded strategic RSF sites across Nyala, including the international airport, military positions and training facilities."

"The strike on the fuel market triggered a huge blaze as barrels of fuel exploded, according to footage circulated on social media, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air. Youssef Idris Youssef, who heads the RSF's civil administration in South Darfur, accused the army of deliberately targeting civilians. He described the attack as part of a systematic policy to punish Darfur residents for not resisting the RSF presence in their communities."

"In the aftermath, RSF intelligence services conducted mass arrests near the targeted site and Nyala's main market, detaining civilians and military personnel on accusations of providing coordinates to the army, according to local sources. Nyala holds particular strategic importance as the seat of the RSF's parallel government, known as TASIS, which the group declared in July. Led by RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti Dagalo, the alternative administration has been widely condemned as possibly fracturing Sudan, but controls significant territory across Darfur."

Military drones and warplanes struck Nyala for three consecutive days, targeting the international airport, military positions, training facilities and a fuel market. The strike on the fuel market caused a massive blaze as barrels exploded, producing thick black smoke and resulting in casualties among civilians and RSF members involved in the fuel trade. RSF civil administration head Youssef Idris Youssef accused the army of deliberately targeting civilians and described the action as punishment for residents who did not resist the RSF. RSF intelligence then conducted mass arrests near the site and the main market, detaining people accused of providing coordinates. Nyala functions as the seat of the RSF's parallel administration, TASIS, led by Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti Dagalo, and has strategic importance with prior strikes reported in October.

Read at www.aljazeera.com