A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed at least five civilians on Saturday when it hit a vehicle traveling from White Nile province to Omdurman, the sister city of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement from Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group that tracks violence against civilians.
The attack, which the RSF did not immediately claim, struck a public road during the morning hours, according to the group’s account. Emergency Lawyers said the incident reflected the continued targeting of civilians on public roads and in populated areas. “What happened was a brazen violation of international humanitarian law,” the group said in its statement, holding the RSF responsible.
Khartoum has been largely spared attacks by the RSF since the Sudanese Armed Forces recaptured the capital last year, but the capital region has seen a series of sporadic strikes in recent months. The drone attack on Saturday is the latest to hit a civilian target on the city’s outskirts as the conflict, which broke out in April 2023, grinds through its fourth year.
The war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces has killed at least 59,000 people, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, an independent conflict-monitoring body. Aid groups have said the true death toll is likely far higher because access to active combat zones across the vast country remains severely limited.