Scores killed in drone strike on Nyala market, South Darfur

At least 102 civilians were killed and 113 others injured in a drone strike on Tanqong Market in the Dumaya neighbourhood of Nyala, South Darfur State, on Monday evening, according to local officials and rights groups.

Nyala is the administrative capital of Tasis, a parallel government aligned with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Dr. Alaa al-Din Nugud, health minister in the RSF-aligned Tasis government, in South Darfur told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that attacks on civilians by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continued, citing previous strikes on North al-Wadi, Nyala’s livestock market and Amiet Market in the Abyei area.

“On Monday evening, a drone struck Tanqong Market in the Dumaya neighbourhood, west of Nyala, killing 102 civilians and injuring 113 others,” Nugud said. “Immediately after the attack, a medical team was dispatched to the scene to rescue the wounded.”

He added that hospitals and health centres had been placed on full alert to treat the injured.

Multiple sources said the drones struck the market while it was crowded with shoppers, killing and injuring civilians.

Adam Musa Obama, Executive Director of the independent rights group Darfur Victims Organization, told Radio Tamazuj that his organisation had contacted eyewitnesses who reported that drones associated with the army carried out the attack.

“The market was crowded with civilians who were buying their daily necessities and eating breakfast when the air strikes occurred,” Obama said.

He said eyewitnesses had reported that 120 people were killed or wounded, while the organisation had documented 14 civilian deaths, including 12 women and six children, in the market during the attack.

“We call on the international community to take immediate action to protect civilians and enforce a ban on the use of drones and weapons against civilians in all parts of Sudan,” Obama said.

Sudan has been gripped by war between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. The conflict has killed large numbers of people, displaced millions and devastated civilian infrastructure across the country.

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