Sudan: At least 11 people were killed and 23 others injured in a suspected drone attack by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a displacement camp in River Nile state.
The attack, which also knocked out the nearby Atbara power station for the fourth time since the war erupted two years ago, marks a deadly escalation in the ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army.
Witnesses at the scene described horrific scenes of destruction. Medical sources reported that at least nine children were among those wounded. The attack struck a makeshift camp located approximately three kilometres (two miles) from the power station outside the town of al-Damer. The camp was sheltering around 180 families who had fled the violence in the capital, Khartoum, living in abandoned buildings and tents with minimal aid.
Survivor Mawaheb Mohamed stated that, “The first drone attack came and landed right behind us. Fifteen minutes later, another one came four in total. It was horrific, there were corpses everywhere, people were dismembered, and the hospital was overwhelmed.”
Following the strike, authorities were seen dousing the smouldering remains of the camp as residents boarded buses to an unknown location.
The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has been repeatedly accused of targeting power infrastructure in army-controlled territories. However, the group has denied carrying out any drone attacks.
The incident comes as Sudan’s already fragile power grid collapses further under the strain of repeated drone and missile strikes, plunging millions into weeks-long blackouts and deepening the country’s humanitarian crisis.
Sudan descended into civil war in April 2023 after tensions between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Hemedti erupted into open conflict. While the military has recently celebrated gains in Khartoum, heavy ground fighting continues across the Darfur region, displacing hundreds of thousands more.
According to the United Nations, more than 12.4 million people have been displaced since the conflict began, with 3.3 million fleeing to neighbouring countries.
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