At least 30 displaced individuals, comprising women and children, were killed and numerous others injured in a drone strike targeting southeastern Sudan, according to local officials. The governor of Wad al-Mahi province reported to Al Jazeera on Friday that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone hit the provincial center, resulting in the deaths of 26 women and four children.
Governor Mahjoub Al-Sheikh condemned the incident as a “cowardly” act. Citing AFP, he stated that the aircraft was launched from territory inside Ethiopia. This marks the latest in a series of aerial assaults on the Blue Nile region, with Wad al-Mahi province, located near the city of Damazin, once again bearing the brunt of the violence.
The strike occurred in close proximity to a displacement camp and an informal gold mining site. Here, women typically earn their daily wages by using chemicals and manual labor to separate gold nuggets from earth extracted by male miners.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF has expanded to the border region shared with Ethiopia, a nation currently grappling with its own internal instability. Sudan has repeatedly accused Ethiopia of providing sanctuary and bases for RSF fighters, allegations that Addis Ababa has denied. Sources indicate that the porous border serves as a critical supply route for the paramilitary group and its allies.
The RSF’s recent offensive toward Damazin threatens to stretch the Sudanese army thin, potentially forcing a two-front defense across both the Blue Nile and Kordofan regions, where drone warfare has already resulted in a bloody stalemate over the past year.
Aid organizations estimate that the civil war, which began in April 2023, has claimed more than 200,000 lives and triggered one of the world’s most severe displacement and hunger crises. United Nations data shows that approximately 100,000 people have been forced from their homes in Blue Nile state alone this year.
Drone strikes on camps have become routine. Is there any international law left that still applies in this war?
100,000 displaced in Blue Nile state alone this year. How can the world keep watching this unfold without acting?
Gold mining near a displacement camp… this conflict is fueled by resources as much as politics. The complexity here is exhausting.
Does anyone actually know if Ethiopia launched the drone? Both sides are pointing fingers again, but what about the victims?
Thirty civilians, mostly women and children. The details of this strike are absolutely heart-wrenching and tragic.