Nyala Drone Strike Kills Over 100 Amid RSF-Army Conflict
Emergency Lawyers reports 113 wounded in Monday’s attack on a South Darfur market, while military sources claim the hit targeted a militia camp.
By Ana Castro ·
Military drone strikes on a crowded market in Nyala, Sudan, killed more than 100 people on Monday, according to the rights group Emergency Lawyers. The organization counted 113 additional wounded. The city serves as the de facto capital for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have fought the Sudanese army for four years.
Witnesses described the scene on Wednesday. A cigarette vendor told the Associated Press that hundreds of RSF fighters gathered at the market on the evening of the attack. He stated he moved his stall between fighter gatherings to sell cigarettes. A drone struck around 8 p.m. local time, killing dozens of fighters and women selling food. Another witness estimated that around 14 civilians, mostly women selling tea and food, were also killed.
Mohamed Didan, spokesperson for the Special Operations Forces aligned with the army, posted on Facebook that more than 150 militia recruits died at the Dumaya camp west of Nyala. He described the event as a precise and targeted air strike. Casualty figures remain unconfirmed because limited information flows from the city.
Sudan Doctors Network issued a preliminary statement on Wednesday reporting 21 dead and more than 40 wounded. The group said shelling caused most of the deaths. It noted that access to field documentation sources in Nyala was hindered by active military operations and security constraints.
Doctors Without Borders reported that a second strike hit a civilian neighborhood after the market attack. The organization said a hospital it supports in Nyala received 36 bodies in the hours following the strike. Twenty-one of those bodies were dressed in civilian clothing. Teams from the group treated more than 150 wounded in the emergency room.
Mubarak Bekheit, an aid worker in Darfur, said many people remained missing after the strike hit homes in the area. He noted that civilians continue to pay the highest price in the conflict. The United Nations reported that drone strikes are the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan. In Nyala, the share of children treated for severe acute malnutrition more than doubled between January and August, rising from 5 percent to 11 percent.
The war has created severe poverty and food shortages. The conflict has also driven the world’s worst displacement crisis. Emergency Lawyers reported that most victims from Monday’s attacks were women and children.
