Sudan drone strike kills at least 11 at market in North Kordofan

A drone strike has hit the main market in Abu Zaeima, a town in North Kordofan state in central Sudan, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens more. The attack took place on Saturday, according to a local rights group that has been documenting abuses since fighting began in April 2023. The town is described as being under paramilitary control, and the strike adds to a growing pattern of aerial attacks in Sudan's war.

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Emergency Lawyers said the casualty figures could rise as more information comes in. It said the market strike came less than 24 hours after similar drone attacks hit nearby villages and a civilian vehicle. The group did not say who carried out the attack, and neither the army nor the Rapid Support Forces has claimed responsibility.

Later on Saturday, two witnesses said another drone hit a fuel station in el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, and a hospital source said four wounded civilians were taken there for treatment. The reported toll underlines the civilian impact of a conflict that has increasingly featured drone warfare. Emergency Lawyers said repeated strikes on civilians, villages and public transport showed a disregard for human life and for international humanitarian law.

It also called for an end to the attacks and for accountability. The latest incidents come after nearly 70 people were reported killed in two separate drone strikes in West and North Kordofan over the previous week. The fighting in Sudan is between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that has been locked in conflict with the military since April 2023.

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The United Nations said in May that at least 880 civilians had been killed in drone strikes nationwide between January and April. That figure suggests the use of drones has become a major feature of the war, rather than an isolated tactic. The latest strike also comes as violence has intensified in Kordofan and Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border.

Kordofan matters because it is strategically placed and resource-rich, with oil and arable land. The region links RSF strongholds in neighbouring areas and has become a key front in the wider conflict. The RSF has also partially encircled el-Obeid for months, making the city an important point in the military and humanitarian picture.

The reported attack on a fuel station there points to the wider disruption caused by the fighting, beyond the immediate casualties at the market. What remains unclear is who launched the drone strike on Abu Zaeima and whether the casualty figures will rise further. It is also not yet clear how many people were wounded in the market attack, or what damage was caused beyond the reported deaths and injuries.

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