Drone Strikes in Sudan Kill 28, Including Key Figures

Tragedy struck in Sudan as drone strikes claimed the lives of 28 civilians in two separate incidents, health officials confirmed on Thursday. As the conflict between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensifies, these attacks highlight a disturbing rise in drone warfare.

On Wednesday, devastation hit the town of Saraf Omra in North Darfur. A drone strike on a bustling market resulted in a fiery explosion, killing 22 people, including an infant, and injuring 17, according to a local clinic worker interviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“The drone targeted an oil truck, igniting it and parts of the market,” recounted Hamid Suleiman, a market vendor. Saraf Omra, along with nearby towns in the isolated Darfur region, relies heavily on this market.

Meanwhile, roughly 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the east, another drone attack incited chaos in North Kordofan. This strike set a truck ablaze on a road in territory controlled by the army. A hospital source in el-Rahad stated, “Six bodies were brought in yesterday, three severely burned, and 10 others wounded,” attributing the assault to the RSF.

The victims were reportedly traveling between the towns of el-Rahad and Um Rawaba, within territory controlled by the army. Both parties have frequently targeted the central east-west highway traversing North Kordofan’s capital, el-Obeid, a crucial link between Darfur and the army-held east.

This ongoing war in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced around 11 million people, marking it as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.