A General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) drone strike killed a civilian herder and injured another in North Kordofan on Thursday, in what Emergency Lawyers described as part of a wider pattern of attacks on civilian lifelines across Sodari and Hamrat Al-Sheikh localities.
The strike hit a group of herders in Al-Bagariya village, in the Wadi Al-Malik area of Sodari locality, killing Al-Reih Al-Faki and injuring Hamed Ammas, the legal group said. Several livestock were also killed.
According to Emergency Lawyers, the attack targeted a water source used by residents and livestock owners, raising concerns that recent strikes are not only killing civilians but also destroying the basic resources communities rely on to survive.
The group said the incident followed a series of SAF drone attacks in Sodari and Hamrat Al-Sheikh over recent days, which have killed dozens of civilians and struck markets, water points, grazing areas and other sources of livelihood.
Emergency Lawyers held the SAF responsible for the casualties, saying attacks on civilians, livestock and water facilities violate international humanitarian law protections for civilian populations and civilian infrastructure.
Last week, at least 16 civilians were killed in a drone attack on the Abu Zuaima market in Sodari locality, followed by additional strikes on vehicles inside the area. Another attack on Wednesday in Adeed Raha killed four civilians and injured one person.
The latest strike in Al-Bagariya adds to mounting fears among residents that drone attacks are expanding beyond military targets and increasingly hitting areas used by herders, traders and displaced families.
Emergency Lawyers said the repeated targeting of water points, markets and civilian gatherings threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis in North Kordofan, where communities already face severe insecurity, displacement and shortages caused by Sudan’s ongoing war.
The group also reported heavy civilian casualties in the SAF-controlled city of El-Obeid on Thursday morning, where drone attacks attributed to the Rapid Support Forces killed around 23 civilians and injured 19 others.
Emergency Lawyers said the attacks in El-Obeid began with a strike that killed five people and injured 12. A second strike then hit Dalil cemetery during the burial of the victims, killing four more people and injuring seven.
Other strikes hit homes in the Al-Muwazafeen and Airport neighbourhoods, as well as areas near the headquarters of the SAF’s 5th Infantry Division, killing 13 civilians, the group said.
In a separate incident, a truck driver transporting food supplies was killed after his vehicle was targeted at the southern entrance to El-Obeid at dawn Thursday.
