Karnoi, October 29 (Darfur24)
Five civilians were killed and three others injured in drone strikes targeting the Sharta and Qadir areas of Karnoi locality in North Darfur State on Tuesday evening, according to local sources and the Karnoi Local Emergency Rooms Coordination Council.
In a statement, the council said the strikes caused deaths and injuries, while the nearby Tuqi area came under a ground attack on Wednesday morning. The council also reported ground operations and livestock looting in the locality.
The council said communications with the affected area had been cut off, leaving it unable to establish the fate of volunteers who were travelling there to carry out a humanitarian project.
Haroun Khater, a community leader in North Darfur, told Darfur24 that a drone operated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck a gathering of herders in Shartaba, killing two women and a child. A separate strike on Qadir killed two other people, he said.
Khater said security tensions had escalated across the region, with continued drone strikes and ground operations contributing to widespread displacement.
Abdul Rahman Hassan, a resident of Karnoi locality, told Darfur24 he had heard heavy weapons fire east of the locality. He said RSF forces were attacking villages and other areas alongside aerial bombardment.
Clashes spread across border areas
In neighbouring Umbro locality, videos published by accounts affiliated with the RSF and verified by Darfur24 showed several vehicles burning inside a forest following a drone strike reportedly targeting gatherings of armed forces. The strike was attributed to the Sudanese army.
The RSF had not issued a statement on the reported civilian casualties in Karnoi. Darfur24 was unable to obtain comment from the group on the ground attacks in the area. The Sudanese army had not claimed responsibility for the strike on vehicles in Umbro.
Intermittent clashes have continued across Karnoi and Umbro localities and around the border town of Al-Tina between the RSF and the Sudanese army and its allied joint forces.
The areas remain among the contested parts of Darfur amid the RSF’s expansion across much of the region, including its capture of El Fasher in October.
