Drone strike kills 30 people in Sudan’s Blue Nile region

What the report says

At least 30 displaced civilians were killed and dozens more injured in a drone strike in Sudan’s Blue Nile region, according to Al Jazeera, which cited local officials and AFP. The attack hit Wad al-Mahi province in southeastern Sudan on Friday, near the city of Damazin and just outside a displacement camp. The governor said the drone was linked to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and that those killed included women and children.

Al Jazeera reported that Governor Mahjoub Al-Sheikh described the strike as a deliberate attack, while also relaying his claim that the drone was launched from inside Ethiopia. The broadcaster said the strike came amid a broader pattern of drone attacks in the Blue Nile area, where fighting has intensified along Sudan’s border with Ethiopia. The region has become a key front in the war between Sudan’s army and the RSF.

The report also placed the incident in the context of Sudan’s wider conflict, which began in April 2023 and has driven mass displacement and a severe humanitarian crisis. Al Jazeera noted that Blue Nile state has seen large numbers of people displaced this year, and that the attack occurred near an informal gold-mining area where many local residents work. Ethiopia has denied Sudanese accusations that it is harboring RSF fighters.