2008 Omdurman attack

Not to be confused with Battle of Omdurman.
Attack on Omdurman and Khartoum
Part of the Darfur War

Sudanese TV shows the aftermath of the rebel attack on Omdurman on May 10, 2008
DateMay 10–12, 2008
Location
Khartoum and Omdurman, Sudan
Result Sudanese government victory
Belligerents
Justice and Equality Movement Sudan Government of Sudan
Commanders and leaders
Khalil Ibrahim Omar al-Bashir
Strength
1,200+ (government claim)[1] Unknown
Casualties and losses
45 killed or wounded (JEM claim)[2]
90+ killed and scores captured (government claim)[3]		 106 killed (government claim)[3][4]
30 civilians killed (government claim)

In May 2008, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Darfur ethnic minority rebel group, undertook a raid against the Sudanese government in the cities of Omdurman and Khartoum.

From the government's viewpoint, the attack only took place on May 10, 2008, while JEM has countered the government's account with reports of heavy fighting in parts of the Khartoum metropolitan area on May 11.[5] More than 220 people were reported to be killed in the raid, including a Russian pilot, and scores were later sentenced to death.[6]

It was the first time that the War in Darfur, previously confined to western Sudan, reached the country's capital. Overall, the war had claimed the lives of up to 300,000 people, with 2.5 million more made homeless since 2003 (the United States has labeled the conflict in Darfur as genocide, a charge the Sudanese government has rejected).[7] Despite decades of warfare in Southern Sudan, Khartoum had not experienced any street fighting since 1976.

  1. ^ A bloody tit-for-tat, The Economist, May 15, 2008
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference crackdown was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference died was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ At least 200 dead in rebel assault on Sudanese capital, Ynetnews, May 13, 2008
  5. ^ Darfur rebels poised to take Khartoum, The Independent, 2008-05-11
  6. ^ Sudan Sentences 8 Rebels to Death for Khartoum Raid, The New York Times, August 17, 2008
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference violence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).