Brief
Drone strikes kill over 160 civilians across Sudan, UN condemns
Rights groups and medics say the attacks, blamed on both RSF and government forces, have caused the deadliest civilian toll in recent weeks.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Rights groups and medical workers say a series of drone attacks across Sudan have killed more than 160 people in recent days, according to Al Jazeera.
What happened
On Monday, a drone strike on a market transport hub near Al‑Dibab in West Kordofan killed 80 people, with 47 wounded taken to Al‑Mujlad; 30 of those later died, a medical source told AFP. Earlier, an RSF‑linked drone hit a gathering of displaced people in Blue Nile province on the Ethiopia border, killing 41, according to Emergency Lawyers. The same group reported a drone strike on Khartoum that killed three children on Monday. In Nyala, South Darfur, a drone attack on the RSF stronghold killed 17 people, including seven RSF officers, and wounded 23, as reported by medical and RSF sources. In eastern Sudan, a military source said air defences intercepted several RSF drones targeting the Atbara and Setit dams in Gadaref state.
What the reports add
Al Jazeera notes that the RSF‑controlled administration (Tasis) and Emergency Lawyers both accused the Sudanese army of the Al‑Dibab strike. The UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the organization was alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes that are killing civilians, including children, and disrupting central services.
What was said
"We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting central services," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres, told reporters, Al Jazeera reported.
How it came about
The attacks occur amid the fourth year of Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023 when military leader Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan and RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) fell out over plans to merge the paramilitary into the army. The conflict has already claimed at least 59,000 lives, according to ACLED, and displaced roughly 13 million people, creating what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Key facts
- More than 160 people were killed in recent drone attacks across Sudan. (aljazeera.com)
- 80 people died in a drone strike near Al‑Dibab market, with 30 of the 47 wounded later dying. (aljazeera.com)
- 41 displaced people were killed in a drone strike in Blue Nile province near the Ethiopia border. (aljazeera.com)
- UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric condemned the attacks as targeting civilians. (aljazeera.com)
Sources
- [1] aljazeera.com — originally reported as “160 people reported killed in escalating drone attacks across Sudan”
