At least 13 people, including eight children, have been killed after a drone strike hit a family home in the Sudanese city of el-Obeid, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network.
Medical officials said most of the victims belonged to the same household. The attack took place in a densely populated residential neighbourhood, intensifying fears over the growing use of drones in civilian areas.
No armed group has formally claimed responsibility, but medics accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the strike in territory currently controlled by the Sudanese army. The area has reportedly been under sustained pressure from RSF forces for several months.
The doctors’ network described the incident as a “dangerous escalation,” accusing the warring parties of indiscriminate attacks on civilian homes. They warned that residential areas, once considered relatively safe, are increasingly becoming targets.
Sudan’s civil war, now nearing its third year, has unleashed devastation on a massive scale. Like a wildfire that spreads uncontrollably once it escapes containment, the conflict has consumed entire communities, leaving millions displaced and cities in ruins.
The United Nations and international aid agencies have labelled the crisis the worst humanitarian emergency in the world. More than 11 million people have been forced from their homes, while hundreds of thousands are believed to have died. Sexual violence has also been widely documented as a weapon of war.
Both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been accused of committing serious human rights abuses since fighting erupted.
El-Obeid remains under army control despite RSF advances across much of North Kordofan state. Analysts say the city is strategically important due to its location between the capital, Khartoum, and the Darfur region, where the RSF has established a parallel administration and faces accusations of genocide.
The deadly drone strike comes just days after RSF forces allegedly targeted a power station in the city. It also follows claims by the army that the RSF attempted a drone attack on Sudan’s largest hydroelectric dam near the northern town of Merowe.