The death toll from a drone strike by General al-Burhan’s SAF on a market in Central Darfur has risen to 46, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.
Residents told Sky News Arabia that the strike hit the town of Um Dukhn on Tuesday, with a drone reportedly bombing the market twice.
At least 26 people were killed and 20 others wounded, including women and children, some critically, amid severe shortages of medical services and healthcare personnel in the region.
The United Nations condemned the attack, with spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric saying: “We strongly condemn this attack, and all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Dujarric said the UN remains deeply concerned about ongoing insecurity in Darfur and the heavy toll on civilians.
Sudanese political and civil groups denounced the incident as part of a continuing pattern of attacks on civilians in Darfur and Kordofan.
Rights activists have called for international investigations into what they describe as deliberate massacres, demanding accountability through independent probes.
The incident follows a series of deadly strikes attributed to the army.
On April 9, a drone strike hit a wedding in Kutum, North Darfur, killing and wounding 86 people, most of them women and children. At least 36 were killed, including 19 children.
On March 20, a strike on a hospital in El-Daein, East Darfur, killed 70 civilians and injured around 100 others, most of them women, children and elderly, along with medical staff.
According to UNICEF, drones were responsible for around 80% of child casualties in Sudan during the first three months of the year.
Nearly 700 civilians have been killed in drone strikes since January, according to Tom Fletcher.
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, in a conflict between General al-Burhan’s SAF and the Rapid Support Forces that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
