40 killed in ‘army’ airstrike in South Sudan

At least 40 people have been killed in a deadly airstrike in South Sudan’s South Kordofan region. The attack took place on Saturday (November 30), AFP news agency reported, citing local residents. Two people who attended the burial of the victims confirmed the matter on Monday (December 1).
The human rights organization ‘Emergency Lawyers’ reported that the airstrike carried out by the army directly hit a nursing school in the village. The attack killed dozens of students and many civilians.
“When I heard about the airstrike, I went there. When I went, I saw the nursing school on fire. Everyone was trying to put out the fire and bury the bodies. About 40 people had to be buried.” Another resident, Tih Issa, said, “We dug more than 40 graves. It was very tragic.”
However, a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the army never attacks civilians. Although there have been repeated allegations of civilian casualties in army attacks during the ongoing conflict since April 2023.
In South Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their ally Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North currently control large parts of Darfur and South Kordofan. Fierce fighting is ongoing between the army and RSF to regain control of key highways.
The United Nations reported that insecurity displaced about 5,000 people from small villages in South Kordofan in November alone. The ongoing war has so far claimed millions of lives and displaced 12 million.

Source: Al Arabiya