Sudan Army Drone Strikes Reportedly Kill More Than 300, Including Mourners
Sources say strikes in West Kordofan and the disputed Abyei area hit a funeral truck and a market, as South Sudan lodges a formal protest
By AXY Defense Desk ·
Key points
- Sources say drone strikes in West Kordofan and Abyei have reportedly killed more than 300 people, including people travelling to a funeral.
- A military source told the BBC the army carried out the Abyei attack, saying the market was a fuel supply site for the RSF.
- South Sudan has summoned Sudan's ambassador to lodge a formal protest over the disputed Abyei area.
- The UN has warned of continued deadly drone strikes and a rising risk of famine in parts of Sudan.
Drone strikes that Sudan's army has been accused of carrying out have reportedly killed more than 300 people, including dozens of people travelling to a funeral, according to sources cited by the BBC. The attacks hit two areas of West Kordofan state and the disputed border town of Abyei, and they have pushed already tense relations between Sudan and South Sudan into a sharper dispute.
The strikes in West Kordofan took place on Sunday evening. Sources told the Sudan War Observatory, a group that tracks the conflict, that the death toll from those strikes was 150. The Observatory monitors the fighting that began in 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF.
In Abyei, 153 people were killed on Monday when drones hit a market, according to the region's information minister. A military source told the BBC that the army carried out the Abyei attack and said the market was a fuel supply site for the RSF. The BBC also reported that a truck carrying people to a funeral was among the targets. Taken together, the figures given by the sources and officials add up to the more than 300 deaths reported in the source material.
These are reported tolls. The source material does not include an independent count of the dead, and it does not include a response from the army to the accusations.
Where the strikes hit
West Kordofan is one of Sudan's western states, and the fighting there is part of the wider war between the army and the RSF. Abyei is a different kind of place. It is a small area on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, and it has been fought over for years because it sits on oil-rich ground. The BBC describes it as a disputed border area.
The market that was struck in Abyei was, according to the military source, a place where fuel was supplied to the RSF. That claim is central to the army's apparent justification for the attack, but the source material does not include independent evidence for it. Markets are places where civilians buy food, goods and fuel for daily life, so a strike on a market will always raise questions about how civilians were protected.
Why Abyei is so sensitive
Abyei is jointly run by Sudan and South Sudan, and both countries claim ownership of it. That dispute has not been resolved since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011. In practical terms, it means that any attack on the area can be read as a direct challenge to the other side's claim, even when the people killed have no role in the wider war.
South Sudan has summoned Sudan's ambassador to lodge a formal protest. Summoning an ambassador is one of the most direct diplomatic steps a government can take short of cutting ties. It tells the other country that the attack is being treated as a serious matter. Officials in both capitals will now have to decide whether the protest stays at the level of words or leads to wider steps.
There are also fears that the conflict could spill across the border. Fighting near a shared frontier can draw in people who live on both sides, disrupt trade and movement, and make it harder for aid to reach people in need.
Drones in a war between two armed forces
A drone is an aircraft flown without a pilot on board. Many are controlled from the ground and can carry explosives or fire at targets from above. For armies and armed groups, they are often cheaper and quicker to deploy than manned aircraft, and they can strike at distance with less risk to the operator. That is part of why they have become so common in conflicts around the world.
The source material says that drones are increasingly becoming the weapon of choice in Sudan's war. It also says that, despite a partial arms embargo on Sudan, foreign countries have been supplying both the army and the RSF with drones. A partial arms embargo restricts some weapons sales but leaves gaps that can be used. Analysts often point to such gaps as one reason conflicts become harder to contain, because the flow of weapons can continue through third countries and indirect channels.
For ordinary people, the effect of drones is different from the front-line fighting of earlier stages of a war. Strikes can arrive without much warning, hit places that look like civilian areas, and kill people far from any battlefield. A funeral route or a market is exactly the kind of place where people gather in numbers, which is why the reported toll in these strikes is so high.
The wider humanitarian crisis
The war between the army and the RSF has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, according to the BBC. It has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced more than 14 million from their homes. Many of those displaced have had to move within Sudan or across borders into neighbouring countries, where they often depend on aid to survive.
The UN says that 20 million people are facing acute hunger. It also warns of a rising risk of famine in parts of the western region of Darfur and in Greater Kordofan, a wider area that includes West Kordofan. Famine is the most severe stage of food shortage, and when it takes hold, the people who suffer first are usually those who have already lost their homes, savings and farms.
The strikes add a new layer of danger on top of this. The UN has warned that drone attacks are disrupting essential services. When hospitals, markets and transport routes are hit or made unsafe, food, fuel and medicine become harder to get to the people who need them.
What the UN said
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday: "We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting essential services." His remarks put the drone attacks in the context of the wider war, not only the incidents in West Kordofan and Abyei.
The source material also notes that the rising use of armed drones came as 20 million people faced acute hunger. Dujarric's warning links the military tactic to the food crisis, which is one reason aid agencies are watching the fighting closely.
What to watch next
Several questions will shape how this story develops. The first is whether the death tolls can be confirmed independently. So far the figures come from sources, a regional information minister and the Sudan War Observatory, and the source material does not include an independent count.
The second is whether the army responds publicly to the accusations and to South Sudan's protest. The source material includes only a military source who spoke to the BBC, and no official statement from the army.
The third is whether South Sudan's diplomatic protest leads to further steps, either through talks over Abyei or through wider pressure on Sudan. Analysts expect that disputes over Abyei could become harder to manage if further attacks happen in the area.
The fourth is whether drone use continues at this pace, and where the drones come from. The source material says foreign suppliers are still providing drones to both sides, so any tightening of arms controls would be closely watched by aid groups and diplomats.
Questions and answers
How many people were reportedly killed in the Sudan drone strikes?
Sources reportedly put the total at more than 300 people. Sources told the Sudan War Observatory that 150 people were killed in West Kordofan on Sunday evening, and the region's information minister said 153 people were killed in an Abyei market attack on Monday.
Who is accused of carrying out the drone strikes in Abyei?
Sudan's army has been accused of the strikes. A military source told the BBC the army carried out the Abyei attack and said the market was a fuel supply site for the RSF.
Why is Abyei disputed between Sudan and South Sudan?
Both Sudan and South Sudan claim ownership of Abyei, an oil-rich border area they jointly administer. The dispute has remained unresolved since South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011.
What happens next after South Sudan's protest?
South Sudan has summoned Sudan's ambassador to lodge a formal protest, and there are fears the conflict could spill across the border. Whether the protest leads to further diplomatic steps is not yet known.
Topics: Sudan war, Abyei, Rapid Support Forces, South Sudan, drone warfare, West Kordofan, Darfur, Sudan humanitarian crisis
Sources: BBC World RSS