Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported receiving 36 bodies and treating more than 150 wounded patients following deadly drone airstrikes attributed to Sudan’s military in Nyala, South Darfur, as the TASIS-backed government said 102 civilians were killed in the bombardment.
The international medical organisation said a drone strike by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) hit a crowded market in western Nyala at approximately 8 p.m. on Monday, October 26.
A second strike also hit a civilian neighbourhood, according to MSF, extending the destruction beyond the market.
The attacks struck an area of Nyala that serves as the administrative centre of the Sudan Founding Alliance’s Government of Peace and Unity.
MSF reports 36 bodies and more than 150 wounded
In a statement issued Tuesday, MSF said the Nyala Teaching Hospital, which it supports, had received 36 bodies following the bombardment.
Of those, 21 were wearing civilian clothing.
Medical teams recorded more than 150 wounded patients arriving at the emergency department, many suffering from shrapnel wounds, severe burns and other traumatic injuries.
Dale Koninckx, MSF’s project coordinator in Nyala, described an emergency response overwhelmed by the scale of the casualties.
Patients were transported to the hospital using tuk-tuks and donkey carts as medical staff worked through the night to treat the wounded, including women and children.
MSF condemned attacks on markets, residential neighbourhoods and essential civilian infrastructure, warning that repeated bombardments were further endangering communities already struggling with food insecurity and disrupted healthcare.
TASIS says 102 civilians killed in market bombing
The Government of Peace and Unity, established by the TASIS coalition, separately reported that 102 civilians were killed and 113 others wounded in the strike on Tangooj night market in the Doumaya neighbourhood.
Health Minister Alaaeldin Awad Naqd said emergency medical teams had been deployed and hospitals placed on alert to receive casualties.
TASIS accused Sudan’s military, commanded by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, of deliberately targeting civilian markets and residential areas.
The alliance condemned the attack and demanded an independent international investigation into the bombing and other reported strikes against civilian infrastructure across Darfur and Kordofan.
The casualty figures supplied by TASIS have not been independently verified.
MSF’s figures document bodies received and wounded patients treated at one hospital. They do not represent a comprehensive death toll and cannot be directly compared with the government-wide figures.
Witnesses describe devastation at Nyala market
Eyewitnesses described widespread destruction following the strike on Tangooj market, a busy commercial area serving residents of western Nyala.
Ahmed Dawoud, a resident of Doumaya, told Darfur24 that a drone fired a missile towards the market near Wadi Nyala, along the road connecting Nyala with Kass.
He said victims included restaurant workers, shopkeepers and children who earned money cleaning shoes.
Dawoud also reported casualties among armed personnel, suggesting both civilians and fighters were present in the affected area.
Residents described difficulties recovering bodies, with some victims suffering extensive burns.
The attack followed a series of aerial bombardments in Nyala during October, including an October 16 strike on the city’s livestock market.
MSF documented at least four deaths in that earlier attack.
Growing alarm over SAF drone bombardments
The latest airstrikes have intensified concerns about the impact of Sudan’s expanding drone warfare on civilian populations.
TASIS authorities have accused the military of repeatedly striking markets, homes, healthcare facilities and other civilian infrastructure in areas administered by the alliance.
The military has conducted aerial operations against RSF positions and facilities in Nyala, but responsibility for the civilian casualties reported in individual incidents remains subject to competing accounts.
MSF has also warned about attacks on civilian infrastructure elsewhere in Sudan, including reported RSF drone strikes against electricity facilities in several states.
The organisation called on all parties to protect civilians and ensure that markets, residential areas and essential services are not subjected to unlawful attacks.
The latest Nyala bombing has renewed demands for international scrutiny of aerial operations and urgent medical assistance for affected communities.
