Sudan's Deadliest Drone Wave: 160 Killed in Days as Both Sides Trade Blame

Sudan's civil war has entered a deadlier phase — from the sky. A wave of drone attacks across the country has killed more than 160 people in recent days, according to medics and rights groups, in one of the deadliest stretches since the conflict began in 2023. The United Nations has condemned the escalation.

Here is where the strikes hit, who is blaming whom, and why drones are changing this war.

The deadliest strike: a market-day massacre

The worst single incident came on Sunday evening in Al-Dibab, a town in the southwestern state of West Kordofan controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to Al Jazeera, citing residents, medical workers and the AFP news agency, a drone struck a transport hub where villagers had gathered to find rides home after market day, killing 80 people on the spot. Another 47 wounded were taken to the nearby town of Al-Mujlad, where 30 later died of their injuries — bringing that one attack's toll to roughly 110.

The RSF's self-declared administration, known as Tasis, and the monitoring group Emergency Lawyers both blamed the Sudanese army's air force for the strike. The army has not claimed it — but each side is blaming the other for nearly every attack in this wave.

A country under attack from above

The Al-Dibab strike was the worst, not the only one. Emergency Lawyers reported that three children were killed in drone strikes on Khartoum on Monday. A strike on the RSF stronghold of Nyala in South Darfur killed 17 people, including seven RSF officers. An attack on displaced people in Blue Nile province on Friday killed 41. And military sources said air defenses intercepted RSF drones targeting the Atbara and Setit dams in eastern Sudan — strikes on critical infrastructure, not just people.

Reporting on the wave notes that both the army and the RSF stand accused, and rights groups warn the growing use of unmanned aircraft by both sides is driving civilian casualties to new highs.

The UN condemns, the war grinds on

"We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting central services," said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF erupted in April 2023 and has displaced millions. Drones — cheap, deniable, and increasingly precise — have become both sides' weapon of choice for striking deep behind enemy lines. The result, as this week shows, is that nowhere in Sudan is reliably safe anymore: markets, dams, displacement camps and the capital itself are all in range. For more on the region's crises, see our coverage of Kenya's Shakahola cult verdict.

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