Sudan10 October, 20263 min read
Rapid Support Forces Drone Attacks Kill 32 Displaced People in Sudan’s Blue Nile
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Drone strike at a Blue Nile displacement center killed about 32 civilians and injured dozens. International bodies condemned the attack and urged accountability; rights groups reported higher casualties.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Abu Shendi strike toll
Blue Nile State governor Mahjoub al-Sheikh accused the Rapid Support Forces of carrying out drone attacks targeting IDPs, health facilities, and water sources, and he said the Abu Shendi center attack killed 32 people and injured 43 others. Mahjoub al-Sheikh told a press conference that the drone attack targeting displaced people in Abu Shendi killed 30 people initially, most of them women and children, before the toll rose to 32 after two elderly people died from their injuries. Mustafa Jabr Allah, Director-General of the Ministry of Health in Blue Nile State, confirmed that medical and ambulance teams mobilized to deal with injuries resulting from the Abu Shendi incident in Al-Damazin city.
Mustafa Jabr Allah said 34 injuries from the Abu Shendi attack were transported to Al-Damazin Hospital, while nine others received treatment in the area, and he added that 21 injured people were receiving treatment in the hospital at the time of the conference. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, condemned a drone attack on a displacement site in Wad al-Mahi and said it evoked "fear and shock" with reports that at least 31 civilians were killed and dozens more injured.
Competing death counts
Emergency Lawyers said an RSF drone strike killed 41 people at a camp for displaced civilians in Sudan’s Blue Nile region near the Ethiopian border. OCHA said it was "appalled by horrifying reports" and warned that initial information indicated that most of those killed or injured were women and children. Denise Brown called for accountability and said ongoing attacks in Blue Nile state had forced thousands of civilians to flee while larger numbers were at risk of death and further suffering.
Mahjoub al-Sheikh said a drone targeted the city of 7 in Wad Almahiy locality yesterday, killing four people and injuring four others, before another drone targeted Umm Darfa Hospital this morning and destroyed it. The Wad al-Mahi governor also said the risks of drone flights sometimes hindered the transfer of the injured, as some vehicles could not be moved for fear of being targeted.
Displacement and medical response
Mahjoub al-Sheikh said attacks on the Kdalo administrative unit and villages including Minza, Bashkarkut, and Jabal al-Nimr displaced between 7,000 and 8,000 people toward Al-Azazah, Al-Rusairis, and other areas. Mahjoub al-Sheikh said the regional government and the Humanitarian Aid Commission and relevant parties provided food aid and worked to provide tents and waterproof coverings to shelter the displaced, while he acknowledged that the scale of needs exceeds available resources. Mustafa Jabr Allah urged the Wad al-Mahi governor to call on international and human rights organizations to send field teams to document the attacks and provide psychological support to those affected.
Denise Brown called for accountability and linked the attack to broader fear and shock in displacement sites in Wad al-Mahi, while she said reports indicated some injuries were in serious condition. The governor also said the Ministry of Health sent medicines, four ambulances, and medical staff to assist in treating the injured, and he said critical cases were transferred to Al-Damazin Hospital.