Casualties after drone strikes hit UN aid convoy in Sudan

Drone attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the WFP convoy was heading toward displaced people in the city of El Obeid, Sudanese medics said.

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FILE PHOTO: Women pray for mercy for the deceased in front of a house struck by a drone in El Obeid, North Kordofan State, Sudan. / Reuters

A Sudanese medical group said Friday that one person was killed and three others were injured after drones operated by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted a humanitarian convoy of the World Food Program in Sudan’s North Kordofan state.

In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network said RSF drones struck the convoy in the Allah Karim area as it was heading toward displaced people in the city of El Obeid, the state capital.

The network described the attack as a “clear violation of international humanitarian law,” warning that it undermines efforts to deliver life-saving aid to civilians amid worsening humanitarian conditions across the country.

It held the RSF fully responsible for the attack and called on the international community, the UN and human rights organizations to take urgent action to protect humanitarian workers, launch an independent and transparent investigation, and ensure accountability.

There was no immediate comment from the group.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states in the western Darfur region, except for parts of North Darfur that remain under army control.

The army holds most areas of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east and center of the country, including the capital, Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.