The death toll from a drone strike blamed on the Sudanese Armed Forces against a customary court west of Kabkabiya has risen to more than 45, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.
The latest figures mark a significant increase from earlier reports on the attack, which TASIS said it had referred to international monitoring and accountability bodies.
The strike hit the customary court in Ghara al-Zawiya on Sunday, August 2, while its weekly hearings were underway. Dozens of people were also wounded, while several others remain missing.
A medical source in Kabkabiya told Darfur24 that around 20 of those killed were from Ghara al-Zawiya, 11 were residents of Kabkabiya, two were from Ghara Farjawi and seven were from the Qarqo area.
Five unidentified victims were also buried, including two people who were inside the court when it was struck.
The source said several of the wounded remained in critical condition and required urgent surgical treatment, adding that they needed to be transferred to Nyala.
Witnesses said drones believed to belong to the Sudanese army fired missiles at the court compound while it was crowded with residents attending hearings involving criminal and social disputes settled under customary law.
One survivor, Adam Ishaq, said people had travelled from al-Sarif, Kabkabiya and Ghara al-Zawiya to attend the proceedings.
“The drones circled overhead before firing missiles at the court compound. Bodies and blood were scattered across the area,” Ishaq told Darfur24.
He said he was around 500 metres from the court and survived by chance.
According to Ishaq, the site was struck a second time while residents were attempting to rescue and evacuate the wounded, disrupting relief efforts and spreading panic.
Ahmed al-Tayeb, a traditional administration leader in North Darfur, said six customary leaders and several community dignitaries were among those killed during the attack.
He said the combined number of dead and wounded had exceeded 70, including women and children who had accompanied relatives to the court.
The court was established three years ago to address the absence of formal judicial institutions in the area and had become an important mechanism for resolving local disputes.
Al-Tayeb warned that its destruction would leave a serious judicial and social vacuum.
TASIS, the political alliance aligned with the Rapid Support Forces, blamed the Sudanese army for the strike and described it as a new crime against civilians.
The alliance called for an independent international investigation and said details of the attack had been submitted to international monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
The Sudanese army has not publicly responded to the accusation.
The attack comes amid the growing use of drones in Sudan’s war, which began in April 2023, with strikes increasingly hitting both military positions and civilian sites.
In May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said drone strikes had killed at least 880 civilians between January and April 2026, accounting for more than 80% of recorded conflict-related civilian deaths during that period.
