Drone Strike on Sudanese Prison Kills 20 Inmates, Government Blames RSF
Twenty prisoners were killed and at least 50 others injured on Saturday when a drone strike hit a prison in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan in western Sudan, according to a statement from Sudan’s government. Authorities accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the attack, calling it a deliberate assault on civilians.
Government spokesperson Khalid Ali Aleisir condemned the strike as “a full-fledged war crime that adds to the militia’s long record of violations against Sudanese civilians.” He added that the RSF also targeted El Obeid Hospital earlier that morning in a separate drone strike.
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A hospital source reported receiving 19 bodies and 45 injured individuals, warning that the death toll could rise. Three drones reportedly fired approximately five missiles, with several directly hitting the prison and the area where inmates were housed.
The RSF has increased its use of drones in recent weeks, targeting military installations and critical infrastructure in territories held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), including in El Obeid.
Sudan has been locked in a civil war since April 2023 between the SAF and the RSF, both formerly aligned under the country’s transitional government. The fighting has devastated the country, with tens of thousands killed and more than 15 million people displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The ongoing violence has drawn international concern but little effective intervention, as humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate.
