At least 52 civilians were killed in a drone strike carried out by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army (SAF) near the town of Al-Fula in West Kordofan, according to local sources and reports by Radio Dabanga.
A resident from the area told Radio Dabanga that a group of civilians was travelling in two pickup trucks (dafar vehicles) from the Al-Sanout area toward Al-Fula to attend a funeral for victims of an earlier drone strike.
The group had previously fled Kadugli in South Kordofan and had taken refuge in Al-Sanout near Abu Zabad. According to the source, the convoy included mostly women, along with eight men and four children, when the vehicles were struck by a drone near Al-Fula.
Initial reports indicated multiple casualties, and later counts confirmed that 52 people were killed, including men and children, though the majority of the victims were women.
The resident said those killed were unarmed civilians, wearing no military clothing and not involved in the ongoing fighting, adding that the attack has plunged the area into mourning.
“The victims were civilians with no weapons and no connection to the fighting,” the source said, describing the region as “a large funeral house affecting every family.”
The witness blamed General al-Burhan’s army (SAF), the al-Baraa brigades and allied “joint forces” militias for the strike, saying the victims included pregnant women, nursing mothers and elderly people.
He accused those responsible of deliberately targeting civilians, describing the attack as a war crime and a crime against humanity, and called on international human rights organisations and civil society groups to condemn the incident.
Political condemnation
The Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS) condemned the strike, describing it as part of a continued pattern of SAF attacks on unarmed civilians during the month of Ramadan, and said it reserves the right to respond.
Meanwhile, the National Umma Party also denounced the drone strike, saying the aircraft targeted a vehicle carrying civilians travelling to attend funeral ceremonies, many of whom had come from villages and rural communities in South Kordofan state.
In a statement, the party said the “horrific crime targeting unarmed civilians directly reflects the grave dangers of the ongoing war and its catastrophic consequences for civilian life.”
The party added that attacking civilians in such a manner constitutes a full war crime and a clear violation of international humanitarian law and rules protecting civilians during armed conflict.
The National Umma Party held SAF and allied militias fully responsible for the violations, calling for an immediate halt to attacks on civilians and urging all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and their declared commitments to protect civilians and their property.
