More than 70,000 Nuba Mountains civilians have been displaced as a result of the second phase of the dry season offensive by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), according to a press statement issued by Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, the spokesman for the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
Lodi said that the offensive “launched by the National Congress Party (NCP), its militias and mercenaries” which lasted from 16 April until 20 April, led to displacement the civilians, from villages and areas of Tommy, Tangalu, El Mansour, Kaluba, Kilora, Tarawa, Tindimin, Tajilbo, and Zalataya in Rashad locality, South Kordofan.
“Their livelihoods have been devastated, food and other property looted, boreholes and other water sources completely destroyed,” he said. “They are without shelter or medical care, and as it’s the beginning of the rainy season, humanitarian assistance is urgently needed, especially for children, women, and the elderly.”
Lodi said that the heavy artillery shelling and aerial bombardments by government forces on the displaced are relentless. “Villages in El Abassiya locality were hit by a Sukhoi SU-24 jet fighter on 20 April; it dropped ten bombs that killed several livestock and caused terror and fear among the civilians.”
File photo: A Russian Air Force Sukhoi SU-24 jet fighter (Wiki