Drones Strike West Kordofan Markets, Kill Dozens, Target Unarmed Civilians

Drone-launched strikes hit markets in West Kordofan and other towns, killing dozens and causing mass casualties and panic.

“At least 34 people were killed and 63 injured when drone strikes hit the town of Abu Zabad in West Kordofan yesterday, according to the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees), which is aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces”

Dabanga Radio TV Online

The Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees) said at least 34 people were killed and 63 injured when drone strikes hit the town of Abu Zabad in West Kordofan.

Dabanga Radio TV Online

Eyewitnesses reported the strikes targeted Abu Zabad's market.

A coalition including Tasees said the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) carried out recent strikes and drone attacks that struck civilian areas rather than military targets.

Separate reports put the wider toll in West Kordofan and neighbouring areas at dozens dead.

A military source speaking to AFP denied that its forces bomb civilian areas, calling such claims "a lie with no basis."

The coalition's allegation that the SAF struck civilian areas contradicts the military source's denial to AFP.

Local medical sources and eyewitnesses say the strikes targeted civilian marketplaces and a fuel market, deepening humanitarian harm.

Eyewitnesses described the Abu Zabad market being struck, with reports that most victims were women and children.

Daily Tribune

Medical sources reported a drone strike on the fuel market in Ed Daein, East Darfur's capital, that killed at least six people and wounded several others, and residents reported thick smoke over the city.

These on-the-ground accounts are framed alongside reporting that drone strikes attributed to the SAF have killed scores across West Kordofan in recent days.

The military maintains it targets armed groups and their equipment, not civilians.

Armed groups and political coalitions have publicly accused the SAF of deliberately striking civilian areas, while SAF-linked sources reject those accusations.

“At least 34 people were killed and 63 injured when drone strikes hit the town of Abu Zabad in West Kordofan yesterday, according to the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees), which is aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces”

Radio Dabanga

A coalition including Tasees directly accused the SAF of carrying out strikes and drone attacks that struck civilian areas rather than military targets.

Tasees’ spokesperson Alaa Nugud condemned the Abu Zabad strikes, saying targeting unarmed civilians with drones constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity.

The SAF denial presented to AFP — calling claims of bombing civilian areas “a lie with no basis” — highlights the direct contradiction between rebel and coalition accusations and the military’s public stance.

The strikes come amid a wider, protracted conflict that has produced very large numbers of casualties, displacement and humanitarian crisis conditions.

Reporting notes that since the war began in April 2023 both sides have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians and indiscriminate shelling.

Dabanga Radio TV Online

The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 11 million people, and driven what the UN calls the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.

Local outlets and alliances meanwhile report dozens to scores killed in recent drone attacks across multiple states.

These reports include the figures for Abu Zabad and West Kordofan towns mentioned above.

Independent verification of responsibility and target selection remains contested and, in some cases, unavailable.

“KHARTOUM (AFP) — A drone attack hit two markets in paramilitary-controlled towns in southwest Sudan, killing 33 people, a medical source told Agence France-Presse on Sunday”

Daily Tribune

Radio Dabanga reported it was unable to obtain an immediate comment from the SAF, even as local coalitions and medical sources attribute strikes to SAF drones and report civilian deaths.

Daily Tribune

The direct, public contradiction between those attributions and the military source’s categorical denial underscores the current uncertainty over independent confirmation of perpetrators and intent.

Observers and communities on the ground report that markets and a fuel market were hit and that there were civilian casualties, but the parties involved dispute those characterisations.