A Sudanese rights group has accused the army of carrying out a deadly drone strike on a gathering of displaced civilians in Blue Nile State, saying dozens of people, mainly women and children, were killed or wounded.
The Emergency Lawyers Group said the attack struck displaced families in the southern Badia area early Wednesday. The civilians had reportedly fled fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces and were living in the area with little access to humanitarian assistance.
The group released footage showing the bodies of several victims, including children, and condemned the attack as a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
It said civilians and internally displaced people are entitled to special protection during armed conflict, warning that the strike could constitute a war crime if investigators determine that civilians were deliberately targeted or that the attack was carried out indiscriminately.
The lawyers said the incident was part of a wider escalation in attacks on civilians and displacement sites, accusing Sudan’s warring parties of failing to meet their obligations to protect non-combatants.
They called for an immediate halt to attacks on civilian areas, an independent and transparent investigation, and accountability for those responsible.
The group also demanded urgent and unhindered humanitarian access to affected communities, including the establishment of safe corridors for displaced families.
Drone warfare has intensified since Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023, with strikes increasingly hitting civilian infrastructure alongside military targets.
In May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said drone attacks had killed at least 880 civilians between January and April 2026, representing more than 80% of conflict-related civilian deaths recorded during that period.
