A human rights organization reported that drone strikes targeted a crowded marketplace in central Sudan on Sunday, resulting in at least 28 civilian deaths. The attack occurred in an area controlled by the Rapid Support Forces near Sodari in North Kordofan as the three-year conflict between Sudan's army and RSF continues to escalate.
A human rights organization reported Monday that drone attacks on a crowded marketplace in central Sudan resulted in the deaths of at least 28 civilians, according to AFP reports. The strikes occurred as military clashes between Sudan’s national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have grown more intense along a heavily disputed battlefront.
The Emergency Lawyers, an organization tracking violations throughout the ongoing conflict, reported that multiple drones targeted the al-Safiya marketplace on Sunday. The attack took place in RSF-controlled territory close to Sodari in North Kordofan province. According to the monitoring group, the marketplace was packed with people when the strikes occurred, and they cautioned that the death toll may increase.
The town of Sodari sits in an isolated section of northern Kordofan where various desert trading paths meet. Located approximately 230 kilometers (132 miles) northwest of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, Sodari has been part of the RSF’s months-long effort to surround the strategic city as part of their wider regional offensive.
The Kordofan region has emerged as a critical battleground in the three-year conflict, experiencing an uptick in deadly drone warfare as both military forces compete for dominance over Sudan’s primary east-west transportation corridor. This vital route links the RSF-controlled western Darfur region through El-Obeid to the army-held capital city of Khartoum and beyond to other areas of the nation.
Aerial bombardments and drone attacks have consistently targeted communities and villages throughout extensive portions of Sudan, frequently causing mass civilian casualties in individual incidents. Military officials have accused both the national army and RSF of launching strikes against populated centers located far from active combat zones.
Previous reports indicate that a drone attack last Wednesday resulted in two children’s deaths and injured approximately twelve individuals when it struck an educational facility. That same day, another assault caused significant damage to a United Nations storage facility housing emergency food aid supplies.
Following their successful consolidation of control over the Darfur region last year, the RSF advanced eastward into the resource-rich Kordofan area, which contains valuable oil and gold deposits, in their campaign to capture Sudan’s central corridor and broaden their territorial influence.
The armed conflict began in April 2023 and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths while forcing approximately 11 million people from their homes, creating what humanitarian organizations characterize as the globe’s most severe hunger and displacement emergency. The warfare has effectively split Sudan into separate territories, with government forces maintaining control over much of the central, northern and eastern regions, while the RSF governs the west and, alongside allied militias, portions of the south.