Sudan Doctors Network says RSF drone strike on Kadugli neighborhoods injures 16 civilians

The Sudan Doctors Network said the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted residential neighborhoods in the city of Kadugli with drones on Tuesday evening, injuring 16 civilians, including three children from the same family.

The network said the attack struck the Al-Matar, Hajar Al-Mak, and Al-Muwazafeen neighborhoods, causing what it described as extensive property damage in addition to civilian casualties. The 16 injured civilians sustained wounds of varying severity, according to the statement. No fatalities were reported.

The Sudan Doctors Network characterized the incident as a “direct targeting of residential neighborhoods” and described it as a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, “which prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian property.

The group said continued drone attacks in densely populated areas since the lifting of the siege on Kadugli have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the city and placed additional strain on an already overburdened health sector operating under extremely difficult conditions.

The network called on the international community, the United Nations, and humanitarian and human rights organizations “to take urgent action to pressure for an end to attacks on civilians and to ensure their protection.” It also urged the opening of “safe corridors for the delivery of medical and humanitarian assistance,” as well as the documentation of alleged violations and accountability for those responsible under international law.

The reported strike follows another incident last week in which the network said one person was killed and three others wounded when the RSF attacked a World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy in North Kordofan’s Allah Karim area. The convoy was reportedly heading toward El Obeid with assistance for displaced civilians.

Immediately after that attack, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Denise Brown voiced alarm over the attack. She confirmed the casualties and said the assault ignited the vehicles, destroying critical food supplies. Brown also noted a separate drone attack earlier in the week near a WFP facility in Blue Nile State that injured a staff member, stressing that relief workers and supplies must be protected and that uninterrupted humanitarian access is essential.

The United States also denounced the strike on the aid convoy, calling it “sickening.” Washington, a major WFP donor, warned that continued assaults on relief operations risk worsening Sudan’s already humanitarian crisis. Aid agencies have reported escalating insecurity, obstruction, and repeated targeting of humanitarian missions, hampering the delivery of food and medical assistance as the conflict drives mass displacement and deepens hunger across the country.

The RSF has also drawn widespread condemnation for other deadly incidents in North and South Kordofan, including an attack on a bus carrying internally displaced persons that reportedly left at least 24 civilians dead, and a strike on Al-Kuweik Hospital that killed 22 people, among them medical staff. As a result of these attacks, the head of the World Health Organization warned that Sudan’s health system is under sustained attack, while the European Union described the assaults as grave breaches of international law. Countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, and Somalia have issued strong condemnations. The EU has also announced additional sanctions on RSF commanders, including asset freezes and travel bans over alleged abuses against civilians and humanitarian operations.

The latest attack reported by the Sudan Doctors Network adds to a growing list of alleged RSF strikes that have drawn increasing international criticism. It also comes at a time when Sudan’s humanitarian situation remains in crisis, with fighting spreading to new areas and millions of civilians facing displacement, food crisis, and limited access to humanitarian and medical care.