Sudan rights groups blame RSF paramilitary for drone strikes that hit civilians

The attacks began on Wednesday evening and targeted residential areas near an army base, a cemetery where a funeral gathering was taking place and other civilian locations, according to Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group.

The strikes are the latest in a growing wave of drone attacks by both sides in Sudan's conflict, which began in April 2023 between the army and RSF paramilitary rebels.

The United Nations said in May that armed drones now account for more than 80 percent of civilian deaths linked to the war.

'Widespread pattern'

Emergency Lawyers said 23 civilians were killed and 19 wounded in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, overnight on Wednesday. Homes near the headquarters of the army's Fifth Infantry Division were hit, the group added.

Mohamed Elsheikh, spokesman for the Sudan Doctors Network, said RSF drones also struck a funeral gathering at the cemetery, killing four people. A petrol station was also struck, he said. 

On Thursday morning, a drone struck a truck carrying food supplies into El-Obeid, killing the driver, Emergency Lawyers said.

"This series of attacks indicates a widespread pattern of targeting civilian gatherings, neighbourhoods and infrastructure, including during rescue operations and funerals," the group said.

Schools have suspended classes and markets are only partly open because of the attacks, an aid worker with Mercy Corps told the Associated Press. Sudanese families displaced by RSF attacks in Kordofan take shelter in a football stadium in Kadugli, South Kordofan province, 27 May, 2025.

Sudan civil war enters 'deadlier' phase due to use of drones, says UN

Expanding drone war

El-Obeid has been under siege by RSF paramilitary for several months.

The Sudanese army also said drone attacks targeting civilians in Delling, the capital of South Kordofan, killed seven people.

The army has stepped up drone strikes in Darfur and Kordofan, targeting RSF supply routes. One strike targeted paramilitary positions in Tiné, near the border with Chad.

The war began in April 2023 after tensions between the army and the RSF erupted into open conflict.

Human Rights Watch this week called on the Sudanese army to hold former RSF commanders who have joined its ranks accountable for their role in what it described as "dangerous crimes committed by the RSF" in Darfur.

The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced around 13 million and left more than 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance.