A drone strike blamed on Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces killed at least 41 displaced people near the Ethiopian border on Friday, marking a deadly escalation in the country’s southeastern Blue Nile region.
The attack occurred in the Abu Shandi area, where displaced civilians had gathered, according to Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights-monitoring group. Eight children and many women were reportedly among the dead, while dozens of others were wounded. The United Nations said initial reports indicated that at least 40 people had been killed, with women and girls making up most of the casualties.
Earlier local accounts put the death toll at 30 and said the strike occurred near an informal gold-mining site outside a displacement camp. The RSF, which has been fighting Sudan’s military since April 2023, was accused of carrying out the attack, but the group had not publicly responded to requests for comment. The strike adds to a growing pattern of drone attacks on civilians and displacement sites across Sudan.
Fighting has intensified around Blue Nile towns and strategic routes along the porous Ethiopian frontier, raising concerns that the conflict could draw in neighboring countries. The war has killed at least 150,000 people and forced more than 12.4 million from their homes, according to figures cited by the Associated Press.