A wedding celebration in Sudan’s North Darfur region turned tragic when a drone attack killed at least 30 civilians, including women and children, United Nations officials announced Thursday.
The deadly strike occurred during a wedding ceremony in the town of Kutum, according to Stéphane Dujarric, who serves as spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, during his Thursday briefing.
This attack represents another escalation in the growing use of drone warfare between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, groups that have been engaged in conflict since April 2023. The ongoing war has claimed more than 40,000 lives based on U.N. data, though aid organizations believe the actual death toll may be significantly higher.
Local advocacy groups, including the Emergency Lawyers and Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, issued statements Thursday via social media pointing to the Sudanese Armed Forces as responsible for Wednesday’s attack.
“We condemn this and all attacks against civilians. Attacks using drones against civilians and civilian objects are unacceptable,” Dujarric stated regarding the incident.
Military officials have not yet responded to requests for comment about the attack.
According to the Emergency Lawyers, there has been a “recurring pattern” of drone strikes by both warring factions since March across multiple provinces including South Kordofan, Blue Nile, East, Central and South Darfur, forcing additional civilian displacement.
Just last week, another drone assault targeted a medical facility in the country’s south-central region, resulting in at least 10 deaths. The international medical organization Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, reported that the RSF conducted two drone attacks on al-Jabalain Hospital in White Nile province, striking both an operating room and maternity unit.
“MSF is outraged by these repeated attacks on health care, which have escalated dangerously in recent weeks,” stated Esperanza Santos, MSF’s emergency operations chief for Sudan. “Health facilities, medical staff and patients must always be protected. We call on RSF and SAF to immediately stop this spiral of violence against medical facilities.”
The increase in drone attacks throughout Sudan’s Kordofan region has created mounting casualties among civilians while also disrupting humanitarian aid efforts, according to analysts and relief workers.
