Military drone strikes on a bustling city market in southwestern Sudan's Darfur region have left more than 100 people dead, according to reports by rights groups and witnesses. The devastating attack, which struck a location frequented by paramilitary fighters and civilian vendors, has once again placed non-combatants at the center of the country's brutal conflict.
According to Al Jazeera, citing the rights group Emergency Lawyers, the death toll from the Monday attacks reached more than 100, with 113 others wounded. The group reported that the majority of the victims were women and children. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported accounts from local witnesses stating that multiple civilian vendors who sold goods to paramilitary fighters were among the dead in Nyala, the South Darfur city that serves as the de facto capital of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
An anonymous cigarette vendor told the Associated Press that hundreds of RSF fighters had gathered at the market on the evening of the attack before a drone struck around 8:00 pm, killing dozens of fighters as well as women selling food. Another witness estimated to the Associated Press that roughly 14 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the massive explosion. Mubarak Bekheit, an aid worker cited by Al Jazeera, stated that many people remained missing and bodies had yet to be recovered from nearby homes following the strike.
Contrasting the civilian toll, Mohamed Didan, the official spokesperson for the Special Operations Forces fighting with the army, wrote on Facebook that more than 150 militia recruits were killed at the Dumaya camp west of Nyala in a "precise and targeted air strike," as reported by Al Jazeera. However, casualty figures remain unconfirmed due to limited information from the city. The Sudan Doctors Network preliminarily reported 21 deaths and more than 40 injuries in a separate statement noted by Al Jazeera.
Background
The conflict between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army is now in its fourth year, as detailed by Al Jazeera. The prolonged warfare has generated severe poverty, critical food shortages, and what has been described as the world's worst displacement crisis.
Why it matters
For readers in Pakistan and across the globe, reports of escalating urban warfare and rising civilian casualties in prolonged internal conflicts highlight the devastating human cost of political and military fragmentation. The struggles faced by ordinary families—ranging from displacement to constant fear of bombardment—reflect the universal fragility of civilian life amidst armed conflict.