At least 30 civilians, including 17 women and five children, were allegedly killed in a Sudanese military drone strike on a crowded livestock market in Nyala on Friday, according to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a statement carried by Erem News, the RSF’s media department said dozens more were wounded in the attack on the South Darfur capital. It described the casualty figures as preliminary.
The RSF accused Sudan’s military and its Islamist allies of carrying out the strike using a Turkish-made Akinci drone. The death toll, aircraft identification and allegations of deliberate civilian targeting could not be independently verified.
Separate reporting by Ultra Sudan cited witnesses who heard powerful explosions in Nyala, including at the livestock market. Military sources quoted by the outlet said the strikes targeted RSF positions near the market and destroyed combat vehicles and fuel trucks allegedly intended for deployment to Kordofan. Those claims also remained unverified.
The RSF condemned the market attack and called for an independent investigation, civilian protection and accountability for those responsible.
Its statement also linked the Nyala strike to alleged attacks elsewhere, including a bombardment of Abu Zaima in North Kordofan on Thursday that it said killed five children from one family and seriously wounded their mother.
The Sudan Times previously reported the children’s deaths, citing the Emergency Lawyers rights group and local Sudanese media. However, that account identified the aircraft as an Antonov, while the RSF statement described a drone attack.
The RSF further alleged that recent strikes had burned down the market in Al-Nayim and hit Abu Adam, Umm Zuleita, Jebel al-Hilla and Burush, causing civilian casualties and damaging homes and commercial infrastructure.
It characterised the attacks as war crimes and urged international organisations to investigate. Those allegations have not been independently established.
