Rights groups allege RSF drone campaign kills 23 in Sudan’s el-Obeid
Sudan Doctors Network and Emergency Lawyers attribute a series of attacks, including one on a cemetery, to the Rapid Support Forces, as the city remains a strategic flashpoint in the three-year conflict.
Rights groups have accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of conducting a series of drone strikes in the Sudanese city of el-Obeid, resulting in at least 23 deaths. The Sudan Doctors Network and Emergency Lawyers identified the paramilitary group as responsible for the attacks, which began on Wednesday evening and have targeted civilians in the army-held city.
The most recent incident involved a drone strike on a funeral procession at a cemetery, which killed at least four people and injured several others. Emergency Lawyers described the attack as part of a broader campaign that has also hit residential neighbourhoods, the airport district, and areas surrounding an army base.
According to the groups, the wider series of strikes has caused significant civilian casualties. Thirteen people were reported killed near destroyed houses, while five others died in earlier attacks. On Thursday, a driver transporting food supplies was also killed when his lorry was struck.
The conflict has created what is described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 11 million people displaced and 28 million facing acute hunger. While reliable figures for the total death toll are unavailable, estimates suggest at least 50,000 people have died since the civil war began three years ago following a rift between army and RSF leaders.
El-Obeid is located in the oil-rich Kordofan region, a strategic area divided into North, South, and West Kordofan states. The city sits between RSF-controlled territories in the west and army-controlled areas in the east, making it a critical battleground for control over Sudan’s oil supply and significant portions of the country.
