Sudan Army Drones Kill Over 200 in Attacks on Funeral Mourners and Market

Sudan's army has been accused of launching drone strikes that killed more than 200 people in recent attacks, including dozens traveling to a funeral and patrons at a market. The incidents occurred on Sunday and Monday in West Kordofan state and the disputed Abyei region.

In West Kordofan, approximately 150 people died on Sunday evening from strikes in two areas, according to sources cited by the Sudan War Observatory, an organization that monitors the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The following day, 73 people were killed when drones hit a market in Abyei, a border area jointly administered by Sudan and South Sudan. A military source told the BBC that the army carried out the Abyei attack, stating the market was a fuel supply site for the RSF.

This attack has escalated tensions between Sudan and South Sudan, with South Sudan summoning Sudan's ambassador to lodge a formal protest. The unresolved dispute over the oil-rich Abyei region, which South Sudan has claimed since its secession in 2011, has raised fears of the conflict spilling across the border.

International bodies have expressed alarm over the escalating violence. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated on Monday, "We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting essential services." He also noted that the rising use of armed drones coincides with 20 million people facing acute hunger and a growing risk of famine in parts of Darfur and Greater Kordofan.

The market attack in Abyei, which borders West Kordofan, took place around 11:30 local time on Monday. The region's Information Minister, Yohana Akol Ngor, reported that emergency workers faced difficulties retrieving bodies due to fires caused by the strikes. Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) confirmed it received over 20 wounded patients at Ameth Bek Hospital in Abyei town, including critical cases with burns, and is providing surgical and emergency care.

Satellite images studied by BBC Verify show extensive burnt buildings in the Amiet Market, also known as Al-Na'am Market, in the north-east corner. Older images indicate the market area is typically filled with trucks.

Separately, a drone strike near Khartoum's airport on Monday killed four people, including three children, according to an AFP report citing a medical source. A military source also indicated that Sudanese air defenses had downed several RSF drones targeting the airport.

The conflict, which began in 2023, has created a severe humanitarian crisis, killed hundreds of thousands, and displaced over 14 million people. Foreign countries have been supplying both the army and the RSF with drones, which have become a prominent weapon in the ongoing warfare despite a partial arms embargo on Sudan.

Fighting in Kordofan, a strategically important region for gold and oil, has intensified over the past year, particularly after the army regained control of Khartoum from the RSF.