RSF Drone Strike on Displacement Camp in Sudan's Blue Nile Kills 30, Governor Says Attack Launched From Ethiopia

A drone attack struck a displacement site in southeastern Sudan on Friday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens more, according to local officials who blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for the assault.

The governor of Wad al-Mahi province, Mahjoub Al-Sheikh, told Al Jazeera that the strike hit the centre of the province, killing 26 women and four children. He described the attack as "cowardly" and said the drone had been launched from "inside Ethiopia," a claim reported by the AFP news agency. If confirmed, the allegation would further strain already tense relations between Khartoum and its eastern neighbour.

Al Jazeera Arabic's Sudan correspondent, Wadah Al-Tahir, reported that the strike was the latest in a series of drone attacks targeting the Blue Nile region. This time, the target was Wad al-Mahi province, located near the city of Damazin. The assault adds to a growing pattern of aerial attacks that have inflicted heavy civilian casualties in areas far from the country's main battlefronts.

Friday's strike occurred just outside a displacement camp and near an informal gold mining site, according to the correspondent's account. At the site, women earn a daily wage by using chemicals and their bare hands to clear gold nuggets from earth extracted by men — a perilous form of labour that has become a lifeline for many displaced families in the region. The location of the attack, close to both a camp and a mining operation, underscores how civilians in Sudan's peripheral areas are increasingly exposed to violence even as they attempt to earn a living.

The Blue Nile border region with Ethiopia has emerged as the newest frontline in the war between the Sudanese army and the RSF. Ethiopia is itself grappling with an internal conflict that threatens to escalate, complicating the security dynamics along the porous frontier. The convergence of Sudan's civil war with Ethiopia's own instability has created a volatile environment in which allegations and counter-allegations between the two governments are becoming routine.

Sudan has repeatedly accused Ethiopia of harbouring RSF fighters and providing bases for the paramilitary group. Ethiopia has consistently denied those allegations. Local sources cited by AFP say the long and poorly controlled border between the two countries serves as a key supply line for the RSF and its allies, allowing weapons and reinforcements to flow into Sudan's southeastern theatre of operations.

The RSF has launched an offensive towards Damazin, the provincial capital of Blue Nile state. Military analysts note that such an advance could put the Sudanese army in a bind, forcing it to defend territory on two separate fronts: the Blue Nile front and the Kordofan region, where a year of deadly drone strikes has left the two sides deadlocked. The pressure of a two-front war could stretch the army's already limited resources and complicate its ability to hold key positions.

The human toll of the broader conflict continues to mount. Aid workers estimate that Sudan's civil war has killed more than 200,000 people since it began in April 2023, creating one of the world's largest hunger and displacement crises. The figures reflect not only direct combat deaths but also the indirect consequences of destroyed infrastructure, disrupted food supplies, and collapsed health services.

In Blue Nile state alone, nearly 100,000 people have been displaced this year, according to United Nations figures. The latest strike is likely to accelerate that trend, pushing more families to flee areas that were once considered relatively safe. Displacement camps, which are supposed to offer refuge, have themselves become targets, raising urgent questions about the protection of civilians in a conflict where frontlines shift unpredictably.

The attack has drawn renewed attention to the role of drones in Sudan's war. Both the army and the RSF have increasingly relied on unmanned aerial vehicles to strike targets deep behind enemy lines, often with limited accountability for civilian harm. The use of drones has made the conflict more lethal for non-combatants, as strikes can occur with little warning and in areas far from active ground fighting.

International observers have repeatedly condemned attacks on civilians in Sudan. Last week, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning attacks on civilians and calling for a truce, though such appeals have so far failed to halt the violence. The council's action reflects mounting global concern, but it has not translated into meaningful protection on the ground.

The governor's allegation that the drone originated in Ethiopia adds a diplomatic dimension to the tragedy. Sudan's military government has long accused Addis Ababa of supporting the RSF, a charge that Ethiopian officials reject. If the claim is verified, it could further poison relations between the two neighbours and potentially draw Ethiopia more directly into Sudan's conflict, with unpredictable regional consequences.

For the families of the victims in Wad al-Mahi, the strike represents yet another chapter in a war that has already uprooted millions. The dead include women who had been working at the mining site to support their households and children who had sought safety in the camp. Their deaths highlight the impossible choices facing civilians who must weigh the risks of displacement against the need to earn a living.

As the RSF continues its push towards Damazin, the coming weeks are likely to bring more displacement and more casualties. The Sudanese army's ability to defend the Blue Nile front while simultaneously containing the RSF in Kordofan remains uncertain. Without a ceasefire or a meaningful diplomatic breakthrough, civilians in the region can expect little respite from the violence that has already defined their lives for more than three years.