Sudan: Civilians Killed in Wave of Attacks Across Blue Nile, Kordofan As Sudan’s Conflict Widens
A series of attacks across Blue Nile and Kordofan states this week left dozens of civilians dead, including children, as fighting between the Sudanese army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and allied groups continues to spread into new regions of the country.
Drone strike on displaced civilians in Blue Nile
A Sudanese army drone strike killed several people on Thursday after targeting a gathering of displaced people in the southern Badia area of Blue Nile State, according to Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese legal rights group. Preliminary information indicates dozens of people were killed or injured, most of them women and children.
Blue Nile has faced months of clashes between the Sudanese army and an alliance of the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, triggering widespread displacement toward the city of Ed Damazin. The rights group said those killed in Thursday’s strike were among civilians who had fled earlier clashes between the army and the RSF in Sinnar state, and who were already without adequate shelter, grazing land, or livelihoods amid a severe shortage of humanitarian relief. The attack came just days after a visit by Saleh Issa, a member of the Presidential Council, to sites housing people displaced from Sinnar to Blue Nile.
Child killed by RSF gunfire in West Kordofan
In West Kordofan, a six-year-old child was killed and his brother seriously injured after an RSF patrol opened fire on a civilian vehicle in the Saq al-Jamal area, west of Al-Nuhud, according to medical sources at Al-Nuhud Hospital. Nader Shehab, 6, died at the scene from a gunshot wound, while his brother underwent surgery after sustaining critical injuries.
The vehicle was reportedly carrying civilians traveling from East Darfur State to El Obeid in North Kordofan when it came under fire. Residents and travelers say attacks on civilian vehicles moving between Darfur and Kordofan have become increasingly common in recent months, particularly at RSF checkpoints along routes leading toward areas controlled by the Sudanese army.
Market bombing in Ar Rahad kills and injures children
A separate drone attack on a market in Ar Rahad, North Kordofan, reportedly killed at least two children and injured six others between the ages of six and 14, along with four adults killed and more than 20 people injured overall. In a statement, child protection advocates said the strike is a stark reminder of the toll the conflict continues to take on children across Sudan, noting that markets are places where families gather to meet basic needs and should never become sites of death and devastation.
The statement warned that the escalation in and around El Obeid, while drawing significant international attention, is part of a much broader crisis facing children across Sudan, with communities in Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan, parts of North Darfur, and areas affected by the expanding conflict in Blue Nile all facing severe insecurity, displacement, and growing humanitarian needs. Repeated attacks are damaging or destroying homes, schools, health facilities, water systems, and markets, cutting children off from healthcare, education, nutrition, and safe water, while insecurity along supply routes is disrupting the movement of humanitarian personnel and essential aid.
Calls for accountability
Emergency Lawyers condemned the Ar Rahad strike, stating that targeting civilians protected under international law constitutes a grave violation that may amount to a war crime if the attack is found to have been intentional or indiscriminate. The group said the incident reflects an escalating pattern of violations against civilians in Sudan and called for an immediate halt to attacks on populated areas, an independent investigation, accountability for those responsible, and safe humanitarian corridors to deliver urgent aid to displaced families.
DNHR Position
DNHR condemns these attacks on displaced civilians, market-goers, and travelers in the strongest terms. The pattern emerging across Blue Nile, West Kordofan, and North Kordofan reflects a conflict that continues to expand geographically while its human cost falls overwhelmingly on civilians, particularly children and displaced families already living in acute vulnerability. DNHR calls for an immediate end to attacks on populated areas and civilian movement, independent investigations into each of these incidents, and accountability for all parties responsible for violations of international humanitarian law.
