Drone strike kills nine civilians in war-torn Sudan
At least nine civilians have been killed and several others seriously injured in a drone strike blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in southeastern Sudan, a local official has said.
The drones struck the village of Bani Shako in the Kurmuk locality, near the Ethiopian border, Kurmuk Commissioner Abdelaati Mohammed Elfakey said on Tuesday. He did not provide an exact number of those wounded. The RSF has not commented on the allegations.
Kurmuk has reportedly been under the control of the RSF and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, for several months. Villages along the border have faced repeated drone attacks, leaving dozens of civilians dead and forcing residents to flee toward Ed Damazin, the regional capital.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted in April 2023 and has since spread across the country. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and displaced millions, according to UN and international estimates.
Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict followed months of tension between their commanders, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and pushing parts of Sudan into famine.
Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi-US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. In September 2025, the Quad group – the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – proposed a three-month humanitarian truce leading to a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led political transition. Burhan rejected a subsequent US-led proposal that November, arguing it would dismantle state security institutions while leaving the RSF in place. The paramilitaries said they accepted the truce.
The UAE’s involvement has deepened mistrust of mediation. Sudan’s army-backed government severed diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi in May 2025, accusing it of supporting the RSF. The UAE denies supplying weapons to the paramilitaries. Relations with Washington deteriorated further in September 2026 after the US questioned both factions’ legitimacy. Sudan rejected the remarks and called for peace efforts free from foreign dictates.
Meanwhile, rival administrations have entrenched Sudan’s divisions. Burhan’s government returned to Khartoum in January 2026 after the army recaptured the capital, having operated from Port Sudan during the fighting. In July 2025, the RSF-aligned TASIS coalition announced a rival government based in Nyala, Darfur, with Dagalo heading its governing council. The UN Security Council and African Union rejected the move.
Fighting in the state of Blue Nile has intensified since January, with the RSF and SPLM-N capturing several strategic towns near Ed Damazin. On November 2, the Sudanese army said it had repelled attacks by the allied forces in the Bakori and Sali areas.
The latest incident follows an October drone strike on a displacement camp in Blue Nile. The rights group Emergency Lawyers said 41 displaced people, including eight children, were killed in an attack attributed to the RSF in Abu Shandi, near the Ethiopian border. Dozens of others were reportedly wounded.
Sudan’s government has also accused neighboring Ethiopia of providing military support to the RSF, including allowing the use of airports for drone operations and hosting training camps for fighters and foreign mercenaries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an end to hostilities in Sudan and a political settlement during talks with the country’s Sovereignty Council chairman, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in Moscow on October 30. Speaking after the Russia-Africa Summit, Putin said Moscow was ready to discuss additional steps to help stabilize the situation in the conflict-hit country.
