A drone strike reported to have been launched by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a gathering of displaced people on the border with Ethiopia and killed 41, a rights group said.
Friday’s strike took place in the Abu Shandi area in Sudan’s Blue Nile province, according to Emergency Lawyers, which tracks the war in the northeastern African nation.
Among the dead were eight children and many women, the group said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it was appalled by the reported strike that also wounded dozens.
“Condemning these senseless killings is essential, but there must also be accountability for this flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law,” Denise Brown, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said in a statement. “As each day goes by in this war, the world continues to accept the suffering of the people of Sudan.”
Devastating war
Sudan has been engulfed in a war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, with RSF responsible for widespread violence and abuses against civilians.
The conflict has killed at least 150,000 people, according to conflict monitor ACLED, although aid groups say the real number is likely higher.
It has forced more than 12.4 million to flee their homes, according to UN figures, creating what aid groups call the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Across Sudan, 33.7 million people, including 17.3 million children, urgently need aid this year, and an estimated 825,000 children face severe acute malnutrition.
