World

Drone Strike Near Market in Sudan Kills 80, Including Commuters

By Carlos Mureithi

A drone strike near a market in the town of al‑Dibab, West Kordofan state, on Sunday evening killed 80 people, most of them commuters heading home. Ahmed Wadi, a witness, said the attack left 50 bodies he helped bury, one of whom was his brother Mohamed. He also reported that 47 others were transported to the nearest town, al‑Mujlad, using a satellite internet connection to bypass a communications blackout. A medical source, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, stated that 30 of those transported died from their injuries. The medic added: “A total of 80 people were killed in the drone strike on al‑Dibab, and another drone strike on al‑Mujlad injured four who are currently being treated.” Wadi said the drone struck twice, 10 minutes apart, “on a transport hub where people gather to travel back to their villages after the market day ends.” The strike is one of the deadliest single attacks since the war began in April 2023, when a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al‑Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted into violence in Khartoum. The RSF‑declared administration, known as Tasis, accused the army of carrying out Sunday’s strike. All of West Kordofan state is under RSF control. Sudan has seen a rise in drone use in the conflict; between January and April, drone strikes caused at least 880 civilian deaths, more than 80 % of all conflict‑related civilian deaths in the country. After drone strikes on a busy livestock market in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, on Friday, the SAF said they had killed RSF fighters, while the RSF accused the military of killing 30 civilians. The fighting has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many more, with foreign powers supporting the sides in the conflict. Last week, Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN undersecretary‑general for political and peacebuilding affairs, warned the Security Council that the conflict and humanitarian crisis were deteriorating, “with no breakthrough on the horizon.” She said, “They [the warring parties] are not moving closer to dialogue. On the contrary, they seem to believe that they can make greater gains on the battlefield and that continued external support will allow them to pursue their objectives by force.” AFP contributed to this report