Khartoum, July 24 (Darfur24)
The Emergency Lawyers Group said dozens of civilians, most of them women and children, were killed or injured in a drone strike that hit a gathering of displaced people in the southern Badia area of Blue Nile State early Wednesday, blaming the Sudanese army for the attack.
The rights group released a video showing the bodies of several victims, including children, and said those affected had been displaced by fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It said they had fled their homes and were living without adequate humanitarian assistance.
In a statement, the group condemned the strike, saying that targeting civilians and internally displaced people—who are afforded special protection under international humanitarian law—constitutes a serious violation of the laws of war. It added that the attack could amount to a war crime if investigations determine that civilians were deliberately targeted or that the strike was carried out indiscriminately.
The group said the incident reflects what it described as a pattern of escalating attacks on civilians and displacement sites, underscoring the failure of the warring parties to uphold their obligations to protect civilians.
It called for an immediate end to attacks on civilians, an independent and transparent investigation into the incident, accountability for those responsible, and urgent, safe humanitarian access, including the establishment of humanitarian corridors for displaced people.
Drone warfare has intensified during Sudan’s conflict since it erupted in April 2023, with repeated strikes targeting military positions as well as civilian infrastructure. Last May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said drone attacks killed at least 880 civilians between January and April 2026, accounting for more than 80% of all civilian deaths linked to the conflict during that period.