Sudan War Deepens: RSF Drone Strike Kills 11 in Displacement Camp, Including Children, as Power Grid Collapses
A drone strike blamed on Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 11 civilians and injured 23 more in a makeshift displacement camp in River Nile state, marking a grim new chapter in the country’s escalating civil war.
The strike, which also disabled a nearby power station for the fourth time, came late Friday and struck just three kilometers from the Atbara power facility near the town of al-Damer. Among the dead are multiple members of the same family, including young children, according to eyewitnesses and local officials.
“My son, my cousin, my daughter’s husband and two children, my cousin’s children — they’re all gone,” said Haleema, a grieving survivor, in an emotional testimony to Al Jazeera. “The boy was just 10. The girl barely two.”
The RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — widely known as Hemedti — has denied responsibility and claims it does not possess or operate drones, despite a series of coordinated strikes in recent months on infrastructure in army-controlled areas across central and northern Sudan.
The attack devastated a camp housing approximately 180 families who had fled intense fighting in Khartoum. Many lived in derelict buildings and tents, surviving on minimal aid. Survivors described four separate drone strikes that sent panic and fire through the settlement.
“The first one landed just behind us,” recalled survivor Mawaheb Mohamed. “Fifteen minutes later, another came. Four in total. The scene became unbearable — bodies, blood, chaos. People were torn apart.”
Authorities were later seen hosing down charred debris as survivors boarded buses bound for unknown destinations, displaced once again by violence that shows no sign of relenting.
This strike is part of a broader RSF campaign targeting Sudan’s power infrastructure. Drone and missile attacks have plunged millions into darkness, crippling hospitals, halting aid deliveries, and driving an already fragile humanitarian situation to the brink.
Since war erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan has descended into one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian crises. While al-Burhan has touted recent military gains, including in Khartoum, fierce ground battles rage on in Darfur, where the RSF continues its push to seize army strongholds.
The human toll is staggering. The United Nations estimates that more than 12.4 million people have been displaced, with 3.3 million seeking refuge across borders, making this one of the largest displacement crises in modern history.
Amid mounting civilian casualties, infrastructure collapse, and mass displacement, international calls for a ceasefire have grown louder. Yet, the violence continues unabated, leaving families shattered, futures uncertain, and a nation on the verge of collapse.
