Drone attack near southern Sudan market kills scores

A drone attack near a market in al-Dibab, Sudan, killed 80 people on Sunday evening, making it one of the deadliest single attacks of the ongoing war. The town of al-Dibab is located in West Kordofan state, which is currently under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to witness Ahmed Wadi, the drone struck twice, 10 minutes apart, at a transport hub where people gathered to travel back to their villages after the market day.

Wadi claimed that 50 bodies he helped bury were among the victims, and his own brother Mohamed was one of them. A medical source said that a total of 80 people were killed, with 30 of them dying from their injuries after being transported to the nearest town, al-Mujlad. The attack is the deadliest of the war that began in April 2023, following a power struggle between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF has accused the SAF of carrying out the strike, while the SAF claims to have killed RSF fighters in response to the drone attack on a livestock market in Nyala, South Darfur state. The conflict in Sudan has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of many more. Foreign powers with vested interests continue to support the warring parties, fueling the violence.

Undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs at the UN, Rosemary DiCarlo, warned the security council that the conflict and humanitarian crisis are deteriorating without any breakthrough on the horizon.