Report on the Civilian Consequences of the Incident | September 11, 2025; Zalingei
On Wednesday afternoon, September 10, the city of Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur State, witnessed military operations consisting of a drone strike, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, with approximately seven people injured according to preliminary statistics. According to field sources from the Sudan Rights Watch Network in the state, the strike occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m., when the drone fired two shells. The first landed in the “Kilo 2” market east of the city and near the old UNAMID headquarters, destroying military logistics, including a Rapid Support Forces combat vehicle, killing and wounding dozens of civilians. A number of civilians who were present in the vicinity of the market at the time of the incident were also injured. The second shell landed in the Ali Dinar boarding house, approximately 300 meters north of the market, causing additional civilian casualties. Impact on Civilians and Protection of Civilians:
Targeting densely populated areas, such as the Kilo 2 Market or student housing such as the Ali Dinar Dormitory, poses a direct threat to the protection of civilians and exposes the fragility and weakness of the warring parties’ commitment to the laws governing their specific and general protection during armed conflict, particularly the application of the standards of proportionality and distinction, given the proximity of military targets to civilian objects. The escalation of these attacks weakens the ability of residents to go about their daily lives and undermines their confidence in any security arrangements or promises to protect the population.
Social Impacts:
The shelling of a semi-central market, containing a variety of shops and a major transportation hub between Zalingei and Nyala, for example, deepens social and economic vulnerability. Commercial activity becomes increasingly risky, potentially forcing residents to flee internally or restrict their movement. The fall of shells on student housing also carries serious symbolic repercussions, sowing fear and panic among families and their generations during the educational process. In the same context, these military operations represent a further escalation in the April war, as military targeting, based on the presence of military targets, intersects with the humanitarian suffering and direct security tensions affecting civilians.
Economic Implications:
Undoubtedly, local and secondary markets in the Darfur region represent an economic lifeline for individuals, families, and local communities. Targeting them leads to a decline in buying and selling activity, an increase in commodity prices due to risks surrounding transportation and distribution, and the temporary or permanent suspension of some commercial activities. This, in turn, increases the burden of living for citizens who are already facing deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
Psychological Implications:
The direct human losses among civilians, whether killed, wounded, or otherwise, the scene of destruction in a semi-central local market, along with the targeting of student housing, which residents are expected to occupy during the war due to the ongoing and repeated displacement, are all factors that contribute to deepening the collective trauma and increasing the state of terror that has emerged in the movement and stillness of citizens following the events until the following day in Zalingei, its markets, and its surrounding areas. Citizens are now living in a state of constant anxiety and uncertainty about safe places, exacerbating levels of psychological stress and depression, especially among children, women, and the elderly, who bear the double brunt of the conflict.
Sudan Rights Watch Network
September 11, 2025