In brief
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) unleashed a drone attack on a displacement camp in Abu Shandi, killing 41 civilians, predominantly women and children. The United Nations and civil‑rights groups decried the strike as part of a wider pattern of violence in the Blue Nile, which has seen hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. The incident highlights the ongoing arms race between Sudan's army and the RSF, deepening one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Families lie scattered in the rubble while aid agencies struggle to deliver medical and food assistance under constant threat of air raids.
A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed 41 civilians in a displaced‑people camp in Abu Shandi, the Blue Nile region on the Ethiopian border. The camp, home to thousands of refugees fleeing inter‑communal violence, was hit on Friday, according to Emergency Lawyers, a rights group that said most of the victims were women and children.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called the reports “horrifying” and warned of an “ongoing humanitarian disaster.” It declared the area has been under “sustained attack” for weeks, exposing thousands of civilians to grave harm.
The RSF’s drone assault adds to a long‑standing power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in 2023 and has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced more than 14 million people to flee their homes. The army controls much of the central and eastern plains, while the RSF dominates parts of Darfur and the south.
The region’s humanitarian crisis is severe, with millions in need of medical care, clean water and shelter. Aid agencies have struggled to maintain operations amid regular drone and artillery fire.
The UN, international NGOs and the Sudanese government have called for a ceasefire and protection of civilians, but fighting continues along the Sudan–Ethiopia border. This latest attack underlines the urgent need for global intervention to halt the ongoing conflict and alleviate suffering.
