At least 28 civilians have been killed in two separate drone strikes in Sudan, according to health workers, as the country’s brutal civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) approaches its fourth year. The attacks occurred in North Darfur and North Kordofan states, highlighting the escalating violence against non-combatants.

A strike hit a market in the town of Saraf Omra in North Darfur on Wednesday, killing 22 people, including an infant, and injuring 17 more, a health worker at a local clinic told AFP. A vendor described how the drone struck a parked oil truck, igniting a fire that spread through part of the market. It remains unclear which side launched the drone.

Another drone attack targeted a truck carrying civilians on a highway in an army-controlled area of North Kordofan, approximately 500 miles east of Darfur. A hospital source in El Rahad reported six deaths and ten injuries, blaming the RSF for the assault. This route, connecting Darfur to other regions, has been repeatedly attacked by drones from both warring factions.

The civil war erupted in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, on April 15, 2023, following a power struggle between the army and RSF. Since then, over 11.6 million people out of a population of about 51 million have been displaced, creating what aid organizations describe as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Vast areas of the country face imminent famine risks.

The United Nations has noted a significant increase in civilian casualties from drone strikes this year, particularly in the Kordofan region, with more than 500 killed between January 1 and March 15. In a March incident, a drone strike on a hospital in East Darfur killed 64 people, which Sudanese legal groups attributed to an army drone, underscoring the war’s devastating toll on infrastructure and civilians.

Source: www.theguardian.com