Drone Strike Kills Civilians in Sudan’s El-Obeid Amid Escalating Conflict

Drone Strike Kills Civilians in Sudan’s El-Obeid Amid Escalating Conflict
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A drone strike on the Sudanese city of El-Obeid killed 10 people, including seven children, on Monday, according to a medical source, in the latest attack linked to the country’s ongoing conflict, as reported by Arab News. An eyewitness said the strike hit a residential house in the city centre.

El-Obeid is the army-controlled capital of North Kordofan and has been under pressure from the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have attempted to encircle the city for months. Sudan has been locked in war since April 2023, with intensified fighting recently concentrated in the strategic Kordofan region.

The city sits at a key junction linking Khartoum with western Darfur, where the army lost its last major stronghold in October. Following gains in Darfur, the RSF has advanced through Kordofan, tightening sieges around several army-held cities and worsening humanitarian conditions across the region.

Despite the army previously breaking a siege on El-Obeid, instability persists. Drone attacks on Sunday caused power outages but no casualties. The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced more than 11 million people, and triggered what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.