Drone strikes targeting civilian vehicles in war-ravaged Sudan have killed more than 20 people in recent days, rights groups said, highlighting the growing use of unmanned aircraft in the country's more than three-year conflict.
The Sudan Doctors Network said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a vehicle on the outskirts of Omdurman, west of the capital Khartoum, killing 10 civilians who were travelling to a wedding. The victims included five women from the same family.
The medical group blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for what it described as a deliberate attack carried out with a guided drone. It urged the international community to pressure the RSF to halt attacks on civilians.
In a separate incident the same day, Emergency Lawyers, a rights group monitoring the conflict, said a drone strike hit a transport vehicle near a water facility in North Kordofan province, killing two people.
The group also reported that another drone attack a day earlier killed 13 civilians, including five women, as they travelled to a wedding in the town of al-Shaatout in North Kordofan.
Emergency Lawyers said the attacks reflect an increasing pattern of drone strikes targeting civilians, with drones reportedly monitoring residents' movements across northern parts of the province.
North Kordofan has witnessed intensified fighting in recent weeks amid concerns that the RSF is attempting to advance toward the strategic city of el-Obeid, where the Sudanese army maintains a major military base. According to the United Nations, repeated drone attacks have damaged civilian infrastructure, including power facilities, residential neighborhoods, bridges and key supply routes.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF following months of escalating tensions.
The war has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced about 13 million and pushed large parts of the country into famine, while more than 30 million people now require humanitarian assistance, according to humanitarian agencies.