A Rapid Support Forces drone struck a vehicle carrying displaced families near Rahad in North Kordofan on Saturday, killing at least 24 civilians including eight children, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. The victims, two of whom were infants, were fleeing fighting in the Dubeiker area when their vehicle was hit.
The attack represents the second RSF drone strike on humanitarian targets in North Kordofan within 48 hours. On Friday, RSF forces targeted a World Food Programme aid convoy in the same province, killing one person and wounding several others. The consecutive strikes demonstrate an escalating pattern of attacks against both displaced civilians and the humanitarian infrastructure designed to protect them.
Double strike on civilians and aid workers
The Saturday attack occurred as families attempted to escape active fighting, a route thousands of displaced Sudanese have been forced to take as the nearly three-year conflict between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces continues. The Sudan Doctors Network, which reported the casualties, called the strike a "blatant violation of international humanitarian law" and characterized it as a war crime.
The Friday strike on the WFP convoy marked a direct attack on United Nations humanitarian operations in a region where aid delivery has become increasingly perilous. The convoy was operating under international protection when it was hit. Both the UN and United States have condemned the attacks, though the RSF has issued no immediate comment on either incident.
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Attacks compound world's largest displacement crisis
The strikes occur within a conflict that has displaced nearly 11 million people and pushed parts of Sudan into famine conditions. The targeting of WFP operations further restricts food access in a region where humanitarian needs are acute. North Kordofan hosts hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons who rely on international aid for survival.
The consecutive attacks underscore the erosion of humanitarian protection in Sudan's civil war. With no accountability mechanism in place and continued impunity for attacks on civilians and aid workers, the pattern established this weekend may signal a new phase of deliberate targeting that makes both flight and remaining in place equally lethal for Sudan's displaced population.
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