Adel Abdelrheem and Mohammad Sio
07 July 2026•Update: 07 July 2026
A Sudanese rights group said Tuesday that 15 civilians were killed in two drone attacks in North Kordofan over the past two days.
According to the independent Emergency Lawyers group, a drone struck a civilian vehicle transporting water Tuesday morning near a water source in the Hamrat Al-Sheikh area, killing two people.
A second drone targeted a civilian vehicle carrying people to a wedding Monday in the village of Al-Shatout, east of Jabra Al-Sheikh, killing 13 civilians, including five women, the group added.
The organization did not identify who was responsible for the two attacks.
Sudanese authorities and rights organizations have repeatedly accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting civilian infrastructure. The RSF has not commented on the accusation and has previously said it seeks “to protect civilians.”
The rights group said the attacks were part of an escalating pattern of drone attacks targeting civilians as drones continue to operate over northern parts of North Kordofan and monitor civilian movement.
It warned that repeated attacks on civilian vehicles, water sources and populated areas reflect “a systematic pattern that has spread fear among residents, deepened the siege on affected communities and disrupted movement and access to water and other basic necessities, worsening the humanitarian crisis and putting thousands of civilians at risk.”
The organization called for an independent investigation into the attacks, accountability for those responsible, an end to attacks on civilians, the lifting of restrictions worsening humanitarian conditions, safe access to water, food and essential services, and full compliance with international humanitarian law.
On May 12, the UN warned of escalating drone attacks across the Kordofan region, saying the strikes killed at least 880 civilians between January and April 2026.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military. The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands and displacing nearly 13 million.
