Sudan drone attacks kill more than 160 in days as UN voices alarm

Sudan drone attacks have killed more than 160 people in recent days, according to medics and rights groups. The strikes hit markets, shelters and cities across the west and south of the country.

The deadliest reported strike came on Sunday evening in Al-Dibab, West Kordofan. A drone hit a transport hub where villagers had gathered after market day. Residents and medics said 80 people died. Another 47 wounded were taken to Al-Mujlad, where 30 later died.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its self-declared administration blamed the army. The army has not been shown to accept responsibility in the reports we reviewed.

Strikes on several fronts

On Friday, a drone struck a gathering of displaced people in Blue Nile, near the Ethiopian border. Emergency Lawyers, a rights group, said 41 people were killed. On Monday, the same group reported three children killed by drones in Khartoum.

Early Monday, a strike on the RSF stronghold of Nyala in South Darfur killed 17 people, including seven RSF officers, according to medical and RSF sources. Twenty-three were wounded. A military source also said air defences intercepted RSF drones aimed at dams in Gadaref state.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the organisation was alarmed by drone strikes that kill civilians, including children, and disrupt central services.

A war with no safe place

The war began in April 2023, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan fell out with RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over folding the paramilitaries into the army. ACLED counts at least 59,000 deaths. Aid groups say the true toll is higher.

The UN says about 13 million people have been displaced. Some 33.7 million need food support, including 17.3 million children. About 825,000 children face severe acute malnutrition.

Diplomacy is stuck. The United States has urged the UN Security Council to push for a humanitarian truce and a wider arms embargo. China and Russia opposed widening the embargo.

The pattern is grim. Cheap drones let both sides strike far behind the front line. Civilians pay the price. For a related look at how air power hits civilians, read our humanist column on airport strikes.

Figures are early and come from medics and rights groups. They may change as more reports arrive.

Fact basis: Al Jazeera (19 October 2026, report), citing Emergency Lawyers, medics, the UN, ACLED, AFP and AP.