Explosive-laden drones struck a sports stadium reportedly used as a military headquarters by army-allied Islamist fighters in Sudan’s North Kordofan state on Monday, triggering fires and ammunition explosions that forced nearby residents to flee their homes.
Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that El Obeid’s Olympic Stadium was being used by the Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigade and the Abu Jibba force, two armed groups fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The Al-Baraa brigade is designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization over its links to the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood.
The attack took place before dawn, with witnesses reporting successive explosions and fires at the stadium as Sudanese army air defences attempted to intercept incoming drones.
Ammunition continued to explode throughout the night, according to local accounts, prompting residents of surrounding neighbourhoods to evacuate before returning to their homes in the morning.
Security forces subsequently cordoned off the area.
Radio Dabanga reported that two civilians were taken to El Obeid Hospital with serious injuries following the attack.
Separately, an army source told Al Jazeera that one person was killed and 10 others wounded in the strike. Neither account established how many, if any, Al-Baraa or Abu Jibba fighters were among the casualties.
The extent of the damage to the armed groups’ reported headquarters and ammunition stocks remains unclear.
The stadium is located near four residential neighbourhoods, schools and university buildings, raising concerns over the risks posed to civilians by military operations in the densely populated area.
Shikan College suspended all academic activities for two weeks from Monday after fragments from the attack damaged parts of its buildings.
College authorities reported no injuries on the campus but said repairs and safety assessments were necessary before students could return.
North Kordofan’s government condemned the drone strikes, accusing the RSF of targeting civilian infrastructure, including the city’s sports complex and Shikan College.
The authorities described the attacks as violations of international humanitarian law and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
However, the government’s statement did not address eyewitness reports that army-allied Islamist fighters had established a military headquarters inside the stadium.
Al-Baraa’s terrorist designation
The Al-Baraa Ibn Malik Brigade has played a role in the Sudanese army’s military operations since the outbreak of the war in April 2023.
Washington sanctioned the organisation in September 2025 and expanded its designation on March 9, 2026, when the US designated the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The US Treasury explicitly identifies Al-Baraa as linked to the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood and lists it under both the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations.
The reported use of El Obeid’s stadium as a military headquarters raises questions about the positioning of armed groups and military equipment near civilian neighbourhoods.
Under international humanitarian law, civilian facilities can lose their protection from attack when their use makes them military objectives. However, any attack must still comply with the rules of distinction, proportionality and precautions to protect civilians.
The stadium’s reported military use and the identities of those killed or wounded in Monday’s strike have not been independently verified.
El Obeid remains a focal point of the fighting in North Kordofan, where both the Sudanese army and the RSF have increasingly used drones in military operations.
