Al-Tina, July 22 (Darfur24)
At least 21 people were killed and more than 30 others injured on Tuesday in a drone strike that hit the only water well in the town of Andro, Al-Tina locality in northwest North Darfur State, according to three local sources.
A volunteer with the emergency rooms told Darfur24 that a drone, believed to belong to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fired three missiles at the well, where thousands of displaced people rely on water. The attack also killed dozens of livestock gathered around the water source.
The volunteer said the bombardment triggered panic among residents, while the wounded were transferred to the town of Tine across the border in Chad for treatment.
Haroun Khater, a community leader in North Darfur, described the attack as the deadliest in the area in the past three months. He said women and children were among the victims and that dozens of horses, donkeys, and sheep were also killed.
He warned that the destruction of Andro’s only water source threatens the survival of thousands of residents and displaced people, as local teams continue to assess the damage.
Neither the Sudanese army nor the RSF had stated their responsibility for the incident by the time of publication, and Darfur24 could not independently verify who was responsible for the strike.
Drone attacks have intensified during Sudan’s conflict since April 2023, increasingly hitting both military targets and civilian infrastructure. Last May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said drone strikes had killed at least 880 civilians between January and April 2026, accounting for more than 80% of all conflict-related civilian deaths during that period.