Serba, July 10 (Darfur24)
A new report has documented what it describes as a systematic pattern of air and drone strikes on civilian areas across Darfur, alleging that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out attacks that may amount to war crimes under international humanitarian law.
The report, The Scars Above: A Documentation of Air and Drone Strikes Against Civilians in Darfur, was published by The Reckoning Project (TRP) and documents attacks between November 2024 and April 2026 on markets, hospitals, displacement camps, schools, homes, weddings and commercial areas across Darfur.
According to the report, the documented incidents caused hundreds of civilian casualties and widespread destruction of infrastructure essential to daily life. The report argues that many of the attacks appeared indiscriminate or disproportionate, raising serious concerns under international humanitarian law.
The report attributes most of the documented air and drone strikes to the Sudanese army, while also accusing the RSF of carrying out attacks on civilian sites, including internally displaced persons’ camps in El Fasher.
Among the incidents highlighted is a December 2025 drone strike in Katila, South Darfur, which witnesses said killed more than 100 civilians attending a public gathering, including women and children. The report also documents an April 2026 strike on a wedding celebration in Kutum that reportedly killed between 40 and 56 people.
It also describes repeated attacks on displacement sites. The report cites a May 2025 drone strike on the Abu Talib shelter in Abu Shouk camp, El Fasher, which killed civilians sheltering inside the school and injured about 20 others. Witnesses interviewed by the researchers described repeated bombardment that forced displaced families into overcrowded underground shelters.
Researchers documented what they described as “double-tap” strikes, in which aircraft or drones returned to bomb the same location after civilians and rescuers had gathered to assist victims of an initial attack. The report says this pattern was documented in Nyala, Katila, El Daein and El Kuma.
The report says the attacks have had lasting humanitarian consequences, destroying health facilities, markets, schools and commercial centres, disrupting livelihoods and causing widespread psychological trauma among civilians living under the constant threat of aerial attacks.
TRP concluded that many of the documented attacks may constitute war crimes or other international crimes because they targeted civilian objects or caused disproportionate civilian harm. It called on both the Sudanese army and the RSF to halt unlawful attacks, investigate alleged violations and allow access for international investigators.
The report also urged the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged air and drone strikes on civilians in Darfur. It called on the UN Security Council and the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan to investigate the attacks, identify those responsible and strengthen accountability measures.