A Sunday evening drone strike near a marketplace in southern Sudan resulted in 80 fatalities, primarily among commuters trying to secure rides home. Sudan has witnessed an escalation in the use of drones in the war.
Witness Ahmed Wadi described the devastation in al-Dibab, West Kordofan state, stating he helped bury 50 bodies, including his brother Mohamed.
Using satellite internet to bypass a communications blackout, Wadi noted that 47 injured survivors were transported to neighboring al-Mujlad. A local medic confirmed that 30 of those injured subsequently died from their wounds. According to a medical source, requesting anonymity for his safety,, 30 of them died from their injuries.
The medic stated that a total of 80 people were killed in al-Dibab, while a separate strike in al-Mujlad injured four individuals currently undergoing treatment. The fighting in Sudan has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many more.
According to Wadi, the drone targeted a transport hub in two separate blasts spaced 10 minutes apart as villagers gathered after market hours. According to wadi, The drone struck twice, 10 minutes apart, “on a transport hub where people gather to travel back to their villages after the market day ends”.
The incident ranks among the deadliest single assaults since the civil war erupted in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Headed by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into violence in the capital, Khartoum, the attack is one of the deadliest single strikes since war broke out in April 2023 when a power struggle between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF). According to after drone strikes on a busy livestock market in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, on Friday, the SAF, They had killed RSF fighters, but the RSF accused the military of killing 30 civilians. She said: “They [the warring parties] are not moving closer to dialogue. They seem to believe that they can make greater gains on the battlefield and that continued external support will allow them to pursue their objectives by force.”, on the contrary.
The RSF-affiliated administration accused the military of executing the strike, though the entirety of West Kordofan remains under RSF control.
Between January and April, drone strikes caused at least 880 civilian deaths, representing over 80 percent of conflict-related fatalities in the country during that period. It has been fuelled by foreign powers with vested interests who are supporting sides in the conflict.
United Nations political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned the security council last week that the humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate without a diplomatic resolution in sight.
