In brief
Xinhua reports that a group of displaced persons travelling from Bani Shako toward Damazin was struck by drones, killing nine and injuring others. Local officials attribute the strike to the Rapid Support Forces amid intensified air operations by the Sudanese Armed Forces. The incident underscores the escalating toll of the Sudanese civil conflict.
Nine displaced people were killed on Tuesday when drones targeted a group of civilians moving from the village of Bani Shako in Kurmuk locality towards Damazin in Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile State, Xinhua reports.
According to Xinhua, the attack occurred while the evacuees were in transit, and several others sustained injuries.
The source is a local official who communicated with Xinhua by phone, identifying the perpetrators as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Abdel Ati Mohamed al-Faki, the Kurmuk Commissioner, said the drone strike was one of several that have intensified in the region.
The incident comes as the Sudanese Armed Forces have escalated air operations against Rapid Support Forces positions in Blue Nile and neighboring areas.
Xinhua notes that these recent aerial attacks on residential gatherings and villages in Kurmuk have increased civilian casualties and pushed more people toward Damazin.
The conflict between the SAF and the RSF, which began in mid‑April 2023, has already caused tens of thousands of deaths and millions of internal and external displacements.
Dar al‑Kata, a local observer, described the chaos at the transit point as “painfully chaotic” after the drones struck the group.
Humanitarian groups are raising alarms over the rising threat to civilians moving through this corridor.
Further details on casualties and damage are pending from local hospitals and international monitors.
The Sudanese Armed Forces have not yet issued a statement confirming the attack or the identities of the aircraft used.
All reports remain unverified until corroborated by independent observers or additional witness accounts.
