New drone attacks strike Sudan as the UN urges civilian protection
New drone attacks were reported in Sudan on Sunday and Monday, including Al-Dibab in West Kordofan, Nyala and Khartoum. Residents, medical workers and the warring sides gave separate accounts of the strikes. The United Nations condemned attacks harming civilians and essential services. Responsibility for disputed strikes and casualty claims remains independently unverified.
Geopolitics··Morning
New strikes hit a transport area and homes
New drone strikes were reported across Sudan on 18 and 19 October, including in Kordofan, Darfur and the capital, Khartoum. The accounts describe attacks on different locations over Sunday and Monday as fighting continues between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary force known as the RSF. Responsibility for individual strikes remains disputed, and casualty accounts could not be independently verified.[1], [2]
In Al-Dibab, a town in Sudan’s West Kordofan state, a Sunday attack hit a transport area near a market. Residents and medical workers said people there were waiting for transport home. Some wounded people were taken to nearby Al-Mujlad. The location was used by people travelling from the market, according to those accounts.[1]
Rights group and warring parties give separate accounts
Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers rights group blamed the army for the West Kordofan attacks. The RSF’s self-declared Tasis administration also accused the military over Al-Dibab. The army did not comment on that accusation. These are attributed allegations about responsibility, rather than an independently established identification of the force that carried out the strike.[1], [2]
Another attack was reported on Monday in Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state. Medical and RSF sources said homes in the city centre were hit and that RSF personnel were among those killed. Separately, a house east of Khartoum airport was reported struck on Monday. The accounts concern new attacks following the weekend.[1]
UN condemns harm to civilians and essential services
Sudanese military sources said air defences intercepted RSF drones targeting Khartoum airport and nearby areas. A military source separately claimed interceptions on Sunday of drones aimed at the Atbara and Setit dams in eastern Sudan’s Gadaref state. These interception accounts came from the military; no RSF response to them was reported.[1]
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric condemned drone attacks on Monday that killed civilians and disrupted essential services. The army and RSF have been at war since April 2023, under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo respectively. Kordofan connects eastern and western Sudan and has experienced repeated drone attacks in recent months.[1]
