At least 21 civilians have been killed and dozens more wounded after a suspected drone strike tore through a bustling market in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, local residents and media reported.
The deadly bombardment struck the northern district of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, on Monday evening as shoppers gathered to purchase daily provisions, instantly transforming a crowded commercial quarter into a scene of carnage.
Carnage at evening marketplace
Broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that at least 21 people were killed and upwards of 40 others sustained injuries. Witnesses described harrowing scenes in the aftermath of the blast, with volunteer rescue crews and overstretched medical staff struggling to transport casualties to makeshift clinics amid acute shortages of blood, anaesthetics, and basic trauma supplies.
Images from the scene showed incinerated market stalls, charred vendor carts, and blood-stained rubble scattered across the thoroughfare. Nyala, Sudan's second-largest metropolis, has endured repeated bombardments since falling under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) late last year.
Unmanned warfare intensifies over Darfur
While neither belligerent immediately claimed responsibility for Monday’s strike, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have increasingly deployed combat drones and high-altitude air strikes in an ongoing campaign to dislodge RSF fighters from urban bastions across Darfur and the capital, Khartoum.
Military analysts note that the widespread acquisition and deployment of unmanned aerial systems by both factions has radically altered the trajectory of the 18-month war. The use of explosive munitions in heavily populated civilian enclaves has routinely resulted in mass casualties, drawing repeated condemnation from human rights observers.
A spiralling humanitarian collapse
The conflict between the regular military, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, erupted in April 2023 following a bitter power struggle over military integration. Since then, tens of thousands of civilians have died, though aid agencies warn the true death toll is likely far higher than official tallies reflect.
Darfur has borne the brunt of the devastation, reviving memories of the systematic atrocities committed across the region two decades ago. In Nyala, critical civic infrastructure—including water filtration plants, electrical grids, and major hospitals—has been decimated by months of artillery exchanges and air raids.
International failure to stem atrocities
More than 10 million people have fled their homes since fighting began, cementing Sudan as the world’s most catastrophic displacement emergency. United Nations agencies have warned that widespread famine is already underway, with acute food insecurity threatening millions of trapped civilians across Darfur and neighbouring Kordofan.
Diplomatic initiatives brokered by regional partners, the United States, and Saudi Arabia have stalled, failing to produce lasting humanitarian pauses. Rights groups have renewed demands for a comprehensive arms embargo and targeted international sanctions, warning that without external pressure, civilian hubs like Nyala will continue to face unchecked slaughter.