Rapid Support Forces Massacre 24 Civilians, Including Children, in North Kordofan Drone Strike

On Feb. 7, a drone strike hit a vehicle carrying displaced families near Rahad (Er Rahad) in North Kordofan, central Sudan, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, two of them infants, according to the Sudan Doctors Network and multiple news reports.

“Sudan’s authorities and medical groups condemned a deadly strike on a vehicle carrying displaced people arriving in Al‑Rahad, calling it “a grave and serious violation” of international humanitarian law”

5Pillars

Survivors and medical sources say several others were wounded and taken to Rahad, which is suffering severe shortages of medical supplies amid ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

5Pillars

Witnesses and medical groups said the passengers had been fleeing fighting in the Dubeiker area.

Many of the wounded were taken to Rahad, where hospitals are reportedly running out of supplies.

ABC News

Medical organizations and human-rights groups urged the international community and rights bodies to intervene, call for accountability, and protect civilians and humanitarian workers.

The Rahad attack occurred amid related assaults on humanitarian convoys in North Kordofan.

“Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out drone strikes on humanitarian aid convoys and fuel trucks across North Kordofan, killing at least one person and wounding several others, officials and medical groups said”

Al Jazeera

Reporting says a WFP convoy was struck the previous day, killing at least one person.

The attack damaged or burned trucks and destroyed food supplies intended for displaced people.

U.N. and U.S. officials have condemned strikes on aid convoys.

Some outlets highlighted specific U.S. comments demanding accountability for attacks on U.S.-funded aid.

Attribution of the drone strikes varies across reports.

Sudanese medical and legal groups, including the Sudan Doctors Network and Emergency Lawyers, directly blamed the RSF and described the incidents as violations of international humanitarian law, with some outlets calling the Rahad attack a 'new massacre' or a war crime.

Al-Jazeera Net

The RSF either denied responsibility, calling the accusations disinformation in some reports, or made no immediate comment in others.

Sources place the attack within a broader humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan.

“Saudi Arabia on Saturday strongly condemned a series of attacks by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North and South Kordofan that struck a military hospital, a World Food Program aid convoy and a bus carrying displaced civilians”

Anadolu Ajansı

Reports cite millions displaced, rising disease and hunger, and chronic shortages of medical supplies and limited access for aid.

Anadolu Ajansı

Estimates and emphasis vary — some outlets cite roughly 11 million displaced and an escalating famine risk, while others report over 14 million displaced.

All sources frame the strike as aggravating an already massive crisis and renewing calls for international action and protections for civilians and aid workers.