Gunfire during RSF celebrations of Babanusa fall kills two children in Nyala

NYALA – Two children were killed and at least four other people wounded by stray bullets in Nyala on Monday night as armed men fired into the air during celebrations marking the capture of the Sudanese army’s 22^nd Infantry Division headquarters in Babanusa, residents and medical sources said.

The shooting broke out as fighters linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) celebrated the fall of the army garrison in West Kordofan, triggering panic across several neighborhoods of the South Darfur capital.

A 32-year-old resident told Sudans Post that the celebrations quickly turned into tragedy.

“What started as joy on Monday evening turned into mourning when some of the celebrants fired their weapons wildly into the air, causing the deaths of two children,” he said.

A relative of the victims from southern Nyala identified the children as Moussa Abdullah Suleiman and Ibrahim Hassan Hamdan, saying they were inside their home in the Karari neighborhood when the bullets struck.

“They were not part of the celebrations. They were inside their house when the bullets came through. We are in deep shock,” the relative told Sudans Post.

Another eyewitness from northern Nyala said a woman and a young man were also hit by live rounds and rushed to hospital in critical condition.

“Stray bullets hit several people in different parts of the city. There was fear and chaos everywhere,” the witness said.

A medical source at Nyala Teaching Hospital confirmed receiving multiple casualties late on Monday.

“We received several people with gunshot wounds, including children. Some of the injuries are critical,” the source told Sudans Post.

Residents said heavy and indiscriminate gunfire echoed across the city for hours, underscoring the growing risks to civilians as armed groups celebrate battlefield gains inside densely populated urban areas.

The incident has fuelled fresh anger among residents over the unchecked spread of weapons and the lack of protection for civilians amid Sudan’s widening war.