Drone strike kills 41 in Sudan’s Blue Nile region, rights group says

A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed 41 people in the Blue Nile region near the Ethiopian border, the rights group Emergency Lawyers said.

The strike hit a camp for displaced people in the Abu Shandi area on Friday, according to the group.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was “appalled by horrifying reports” of the attack. Initial reports indicated that most casualties were women and children, it said.

The area had reportedly been “under sustained attack in recent weeks”, displacing thousands of civilians and putting many more at serious risk, OCHA said.

Sudan’s army and paramilitary forces, including the RSF, have been fighting for power since 2023. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 14 million from their homes, while leaving millions in need of medical assistance.

The army controls much of central and eastern Sudan, while the RSF is based in Darfur in the west and also controls areas in the south. Both sides have been accused of carrying out drone attacks.