Drone strikes blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed at least 23 civilians and wounded 19 others in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, local monitoring groups have said, as the use of armed drones continues to spread across the country in its more than three-year war.
Issued on: 12/06/2026 - 15:46
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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.
