A surge of drone strikes across Sudan killed more than 160 people in western regions, while a separate attack in the disputed Abyei border zone left 73 dead. The United Nations and emergency monitors condemned the escalating aerial warfare as civilian infrastructure and displaced camps face relentless bombardments.
An escalation in unmanned aircraft attacks across multiple regions of Sudan has pushed civilian casualties past alarming thresholds. Medics and rights groups reported more than 160 deaths in western areas alone over recent days, compounding a humanitarian crisis driven by the ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Al-Dibab Market Bombing Claims Eighty Lives
The deadliest single incident in the recent wave struck the town of al-Dibab in West Kordofan state on Sunday evening. A drone hit a transport hub where villagers had gathered after market day to catch rides home. The conflict began in April 2023 when a power struggle erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Between January and April, drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths, representing more than 80% of all conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan.
A witness named Ahmed Wadi described the devastation through a satellite internet connection during a communications blackout.
50 bodies who I helped bury, one of them my own brother Mohamed.
Ahmed Wadi, witness
Wadi stated that the drone struck twice, separated by 10 minutes, targeting commuters. Forty-seven injured survivors were transported to the nearby town of al-Mujlad, where a local medical source confirmed that 30 succumbed to their injuries, bringing the total death toll to 80. The RSF-declared administration, known as Tasis, accused the military of carrying out the strike in West Kordofan, a state entirely under RSF control. According to the Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights organization, the armed forces struck an al-Muglad market on Saturday followed by the Al-Dabab area on Sunday, resulting in dozens of civilian fatalities—among them women and children—which the group condemned as breaches of international humanitarian law. In the capital, Khartoum, a drone attack on Monday killed three children aged two, four, and six in the Imtidad Nasser neighborhood east of the airport, an incident where Emergency Lawyers blamed the RSF and demanded an investigation and accountability.
Cross-Border Casualties at Amiet Common Market in Abyei
Violence also spilled across borders on Monday morning when drones struck the Amiet Common Market in the disputed Abyei region, killing at least 73 people and wounding 19 others. Yohana Akol Ngor, the caretaker information minister for Abyei, accused Sudan’s army of carrying out the attack, stating that the drones dropped seven bombs targeting the northern section of the market where fuel is sold. Bulabek Deng Kuol, the paramount chief of the Ngok Dinka community, confirmed heavy casualties and stated that approximately 12 drone strikes hit the market starting at around 11:30 a.m. Yohana Akol Ngor noted that emergency workers struggled to retrieve bodies due to fires ignited by the strikes, warning that the death toll could rise.
The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières reported receiving more than 20 patients at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital.
So far we received over 20 patients, including several critical cases. Patients with burns were also admitted. We are providing surgical services and wound dressing, along with other emergency care.
Christian Lindauer, MSF medical activities manager at Ameth Bek Hospital
South Sudan’s foreign ministry summoned the Sudanese ambassador to convey strong protest and deep concern regarding the attack and its implications for the security of civilians and the stability of the Abyei Area.
Multiple sources noted that the joint market serves the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities, as well as people displaced by the war in Sudan.
Drone Strikes Kill Civilians Across West Darfur and Kordofan
The aerial escalation extends far beyond West Kordofan and Abyei. In West Darfur, a drone strike attributed to the Rapid Support Forces killed several people, including six women, and injured five others in Bir Saliba, located in Sarba locality, where victims included displaced people who travelled to the area to work in agriculture. In West Kordofan, an SAF drone strike on a civilian lorry near Ankush killed four civilians, including three women, while a separate drone attack killed three civilians in the Fouja area and another strike on El Janana near Wad Banda killed a child. On Sunday morning, drone strikes hit military sites in eastern areas including El Gedaref, Khashm El Girba, and the Upper Atbara and Setit Dam Complex, prompting air defenses to intercept multiple unmanned vehicles—such as three aimed at the Ali Atbara Dam in El Fashaga locality and another detected above Khashm El Girba. In Blue Nile State, a drone strike on October 9 hit displaced people digging for gold near the Abu Shandi shelter. Major Mutawakkil Ali Wakil, spokesman for the Joint Force, condemned the strike, stating that targeting innocent civilians constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law. In El Obeid, recurring drone flights have repeatedly disrupted school classes in NRC-supported learning centres.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, condemned the nationwide strikes, stating that officials are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes killing civilians and disrupting basic services. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, warned the Security Council that the crisis was worsening with no breakthrough on the horizon. The United States urged the Security Council on Friday to push for a humanitarian truce and expand an arms embargo on Sudan, though China and Russia opposed widening the embargo. According to UN figures, the conflict has displaced about 13 million people, while 33.7 million people urgently need food support and an estimated 825,000 children face severe acute malnutrition.