At least 28 civilians have been killed in fresh drone strikes in Sudan, as the country’s brutal conflict continues to claim lives despite repeated international warnings.
The latest attacks struck two locations hundreds of kilometres apart, a crowded market in Darfur and a major road in Kordofan highlighting the widening danger posed by drone warfare in civilian areas.
Health workers, speaking via satellite communication due to an ongoing blackout, confirmed the deaths on Thursday.
In North Darfur’s Saraf Omra, a drone strike hit a busy market, killing 22 people, including an infant, and leaving 17 others injured.
Eyewitness Hamid Suleiman said the explosion targeted a parked oil truck, triggering a fire that quickly spread through parts of the market.
“The drone hit a parked oil truck, which caught fire along with part of the market,” he said.
In a separate incident in North Kordofan, six civilians were killed when a drone strike set a truck ablaze along a key road between El-Rahad and Um Rawaba. Ten others were injured, according to hospital sources, who blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The road is part of a crucial highway linking Darfur to eastern Sudan and has repeatedly come under attack from both sides in the conflict.
The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 between the national army and the RSF, has devastated the country. Tens of thousands have been killed, while around 11 million people have been displaced, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
According to the United Nations, more than 500 civilians have already been killed in drone strikes between January and mid-March this year alone, with the Kordofan region among the hardest hit.
The UN has repeatedly warned about the growing use of drones in populated areas, describing it as a dangerous escalation driven by the availability of relatively cheap but highly destructive technology.
Recent incidents have further raised alarm. On the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a strike on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in Darfur reportedly killed 70 people and injured 146. Another attack days earlier killed 24 people in the Chadian town of Tine, fuelling fears of the conflict spreading beyond Sudan’s borders.
Authorities in Chad have since deployed troops along their border and warned of a possible response to future attacks.
Meanwhile, the UN’s special envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, has begun his first visit to the country in a renewed push for peace.
Despite ongoing appeals for a ceasefire and calls to protect civilians, fighting continues unabated, with both sides accused of near-daily strikes.
