Drone attacks targeting civilian vehicles in war-torn Sudan have killed more than 20 people in recent days, rights groups said, raising concerns over the growing use of unmanned aircraft in the country’s brutal conflict.
The Sudan Doctors Network said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a vehicle on the outskirts of Omdurman, west of the capital Khartoum, killing 10 civilians travelling to a wedding. Five of the victims were women from the same family, reports AP/UNB
The medical group accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out what it called a deliberate attack using a guided drone, urging the international community to pressure the group to stop attacks on civilians.
In another incident on the same day, the rights group Emergency Lawyers said a drone strike hit a passenger vehicle near a water facility in North Kordofan province, killing two people.
The group also reported that a separate drone attack a day earlier killed 13 civilians, including five women, while they were travelling to a wedding in al-Shaatout town in North Kordofan.
Emergency Lawyers said the incidents point to a growing pattern of drone attacks against civilians, with unmanned aircraft allegedly being used to track people’s movements across northern parts of the province.
Fighting has intensified in North Kordofan in recent weeks amid concerns that the RSF is attempting to advance towards the strategic city of el-Obeid, home to a major Sudanese army base. The United Nations has warned that repeated drone attacks have damaged civilian infrastructure, including electricity facilities, residential areas, bridges and vital supply routes.
Sudan has been locked in a devastating war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF after months of rising tensions.
The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced around 13 million and pushed large parts of the country into famine. More than 30 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance, according to aid agencies.
