More than 10 civilians were killed and at least 17 others wounded when a drone struck a vehicle carrying passengers in Sudan’s West Darfur state, the head of the state’s civil administration said.
The civil administration is aligned with the RSF-backed Tasis alliance.
Tijani al-Tahir Karshoum told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the strike occurred early on Sunday in El Geneina, the state capital, and hit a vehicle carrying civilians, including women and children, who were travelling to the city to shop.
“The Sudanese army targeted a vehicle that was carrying civilians from different parts of Darfur,” Karshoum said. He said the attack killed more than 10 people and wounded 17 others.
Karshoum said the drone was a Turkish-made Bayraktar operated by the Sudanese army. Radio Tamazuj could not independently verify the type of drone involved.
Karshoum condemned the strike and called on international organisations to take action to protect civilians and hold those responsible to account.
“We call on the international community to take action against the targeting of civilians in Darfur and Kordofan using drones. What happened on Sunday is completely unacceptable,” he said.
A resident of El Geneina, who asked not to be named, also said the passengers were civilians and that no military personnel were among the casualties.
“No military personnel were killed in the incident. The vehicles targeted were civilian vehicles and no RSF vehicle was attacked,” the resident said.
The Sudanese army could not immediately be reached for comment.
The strike comes amid an escalation in the use of drones by both sides in Sudan’s war, which has increasingly exposed civilians to attacks.
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
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