Drone strike kills 8 women fleeing South Kordofan conflict

A drone attack on Wednesday killed eight people, all women, as they fled the besieged city of Kadugli in South Kordofan state, witnesses said.

The strike occurred in Kurkal, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) north of Kadugli, which is controlled by the army but has been surrounded by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for roughly 18 months.

“A drone struck displaced people from Kadugli when they arrived in Kurkal,” said one eyewitness who had fled with the victims. Another eyewitness confirmed seeing eight bodies after the attack. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

Since taking control of El-Fasher in Darfur in October, the RSF has shifted focus to resource-rich Kordofan, a strategic corridor between army-held northern territories, including Khartoum, and RSF-controlled Darfur.

Communications remain cut in the region, and the United Nations declared a famine in Kadugli last month. Many residents have been forced to forage in nearby forests for food.

“The humanitarian situation is extremely bad,” a World Food Programme source said, noting that attempts to leave the city are fraught with danger.

On Monday and Tuesday alone, 460 people fled Kadugli due to escalating insecurity, according to the International Organization for Migration. Over the preceding ten days, roughly 1,850 displaced people, mostly women and children, reached the neighbouring army-controlled White Nile state after days of travel to escape RSF attacks.

The conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and triggered what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.