Sudanupdated 1h ago3 min read
Drone Attacks Kill 80 Civilians At Dabob Truck Stop In West Darfur
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Drone strike near Al Dibab market killed about 80 civilians. A separate attack near Khartoum airport killed four people, including three children.
Al Dibab drone strike
A drone attack hit a truck stop used by civilians in the Dabob area of West Darfur state, and medical sources said 80 people were killed in the strike on Sunday evening. Ahmed Abakar Wadi told AFP that after the drone explosion there were "50 bodies I helped bury, one of them my brother," and a medical source said another 47 people were taken to the hospital where 30 died. A separate drone attack near Khartoum airport killed four people, including three children aged between two and six, according to a medical source working at Omdurman Mortuary.
France 24 said the strike in the town of Al-Dibab in West Kordofan state Sunday evening left "50 bodies who I helped bury, one of them my own brother Mohamed" and reported that 47 others were transported to Al-Mujlad where 30 died. The Sudanese army announced on Monday that it foiled a ground attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces and its ally, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/North, in Blue Nile State in the southeast of the country.
Competing blame and details
The RSF-declared administration, known as Tasis, accused the army of carrying out the Sunday strike near the market in Al-Dibab, while the Sudan Armed Forces did not comment on the incident. Ahmed Abakar Wadi said the drone struck twice, 10 minutes apart, "on a transport hub where people gather to travel back to their villages after the market day ends." Emergency Lawyers denounced the shelling and called for civilian protection and accountability, and the group reported that drones belonging to the army shelled the Mijled market in West Darfur and the Dabob area on Sunday.
The Sudan Founding Alliance, also known as Tasis, denounced on Monday the death of at least 80 people in attacks attributed to the Armed Forces and accused the Army of using Turkish-made drones against "unarmed civilians," according to a statement published on social media. Sayed Mustafa told The Associated Press he saw a drone flying toward the airport and heard anti-aircraft fire engage it, and he said, "Shortly after, the drone went down, and we heard an explosion near the airport," in Imtidad Nasser east of Khartoum’s airport.
Wider war toll and next risks
Humanitarian workers estimate that more than 200,000 people have died since the war began in April 2023 between the armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the UN said the war has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Acento reported that there is no official death toll, while the BBC described food shortages deepening in parts of Sudan with harsh humanitarian conditions amid humanitarian rights warnings.
The Guardian said between January and April drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths, more than 80% of all conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan.
The Associated Press said Sudan’s war has killed at least 59,000 people according to conflict monitor ACLED, while aid groups say the true toll is likely higher, and it said about 13 million people have been displaced from their homes.
The United States urged the U.N. Security Council to push for a humanitarian truce and expand an arms embargo on Sudan, but China and Russia opposed widening the embargo, as the Associated Press reported.