Recent drone strikes attributed to Sudan’s army have added a grim new chapter to the country’s protracted conflict. According to the Sudan War Observatory and local officials, coordinated attacks on a fuel market in Abyei and a convoy of mourners traveling to a funeral in West Kordofan on Sunday and Monday resulted in more than 300 civilian deaths.
What happened on the ground?
In the disputed border town of Abyei, a market known locally as Amiet (or Al‑Na’am) Market was hit around 11:30 a.m. on Monday. The market, which also served as a fuel supply hub, was reportedly targeted because it was believed to be supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The region’s information minister, Yohana Akol Ngor, said the strike killed 153 people. Satellite imagery verified by BBC shows extensive burning of buildings and a large plume of smoke, confirming the scale of the destruction.
In a separate incident in West Kordofan, a truck carrying roughly 200 mourners arrived in the town of Al‑Dabab when it was struck by an army drone. The monitoring group reported 145 deaths from the truck impact and an additional five fatalities when a nearby tent where mourners had gathered was hit. The same strike left 150 people injured. The combined toll from the two attacks pushes the death count past the 300‑person mark.
Reactions and accountability
The Sudanese army has not publicly confirmed responsibility for the strikes, but a military source told the BBC that the Abyei attack was carried out by the army, citing the market’s role as an RSF fuel depot. The army maintains that it does not target civilians, even when it believes RSF fighters are present.
South Sudan, which jointly administers Abyei with Sudan, summoned Sudan’s ambassador to lodge a formal protest, warning that the violence could spill across the border. United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric condemned the “continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting essential services.”
Humanitarian context
The drone attacks occurred against a backdrop of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The war, which erupted in 2023 between Sudan’s army and the RSF, has already killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 14 million Sudanese. The United Nations estimates that 20 million people face acute hunger, with a rising risk of famine in parts of Darfur and Greater Kordofan.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported receiving over 20 patients from the Abyei market strike, including several critical cases and burn victims. The organization is providing surgical care and wound dressing amid limited resources.
Why drones are changing the war
Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have increasingly relied on armed drones, despite a partial arms embargo that restricts the flow of such weapons into Sudan. The latest wave of strikes appears to have been launched from the army‑held city of Kadugli in South Kordofan, according to the Sudan War Observatory.
- Strategic impact: Drones enable precise strikes on targets like fuel depots and convoys, but they also raise the risk of civilian casualties when intelligence is inaccurate.
- International concern: The use of drones by both sides has drawn criticism from humanitarian groups and calls for stricter enforcement of the embargo.
- Regional tension: The Abyei strike threatens to destabilise the fragile joint administration of the oil‑rich border area, potentially drawing South Sudan further into the conflict.
Looking ahead
With the death toll from the recent strikes still rising—Abyei’s minister later confirmed the market death count increased from 73 to 153—the international community faces pressure to address the proliferation of drone warfare in Sudan. As UN peacekeepers continue to patrol Abyei, the attacks underscore the challenges of protecting civilians in a conflict where the line between military and civilian infrastructure is increasingly blurred.
For Sudan’s millions of displaced and hungry citizens, the immediate concern remains access to food, medical care, and safety. The recent drone strikes not only add to the tragic loss of life but also threaten to deepen the humanitarian emergency that has already pushed the country toward famine.