Drone Strike Hits Abu Zaeima Market, Kills 11 Civilians in North Kordofan

A drone strike hit the main market in Abu Zaeima, a paramilitary-controlled town in North Kordofan state, killing 11 civilians and wounding dozens more on Saturday, according to Emergency Lawyers.

The attack came as escalating aerial attacks deepen the toll of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with Emergency Lawyers saying the casualty figures could rise.

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Emergency Lawyers said the strike followed similar drone attacks on nearby villages and a civilian vehicle less than a day earlier.

Two witnesses told AFP that another drone hit a fuel station later on Saturday in el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, and a medical source said the facility received four wounded civilians.

Emergency Lawyers condemned the attack, saying the repeated targeting of civilians, villages and public transport reflected a blatant disregard for human life and the basic principles of international humanitarian law.

The group called for an end to such attacks and accountability for those responsible, while also saying the casualty figures could rise.

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A separate report from Emergency Lawyers and a local leader said nearly 70 people were killed in two separate drone strikes in the West and North Kordofan states over the past week.

The BBC did not provide a new casualty figure for the Abu Zaeima market strike, but its coverage focused on displacement in Blue Nile, noting the International Organization for Migration recorded displacement of more than 28,000 people in Blue Nile as the humanitarian situation grows more difficult.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration said about 65,000 civilians fled the Kordofan region over the past three months due to growing insecurity and clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary and the Sudanese army.

The UN agency said nearly 43,000 people fled North Kordofan, about 22,000 were displaced from South Kordofan, and 250 from the Geibaish region in West Kordofan, with figures described as preliminary and subject to change.

OCHA expressed deep concern about the impact of escalating violence on civilians and reiterated its call for the protection of civilians and for unhindered humanitarian access to all affected areas.

In the same broader context of drone warfare, the UN said that between January and April at least 880 civilians were killed in drone strikes nationwide, while the war’s fourth year has left the region’s displacement and hunger crises at extreme levels.