The attack in West Kordofan highlights the growing use of drones in Sudan’s war, where civilians are increasingly caught between the army, paramilitary forces, and foreign-backed weapons networks.
A drone strike on a crowded market in Sudan’s West Kordofan province has killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens more, marking one of the latest deadly attacks on civilians in a war that has already devastated much of the country.
The strike hit the town of Ghubaysh, according to Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group that accused the Sudanese army of targeting the market during peak hours. Army sources denied responsibility for civilian deaths, saying the drone had struck two vehicles belonging to the rival Rapid Support Forces near the market. The conflicting claims could not be independently verified.
The attack underscores how Sudan’s civil war is becoming increasingly shaped by drone warfare. Since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, the conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced about 13 million people, and pushed large parts of the country toward famine.
West Kordofan has become one of the conflict’s most dangerous regions, sitting near key routes that connect Darfur, central Sudan, and areas contested by both sides. Civilians in towns such as Ghubaysh are exposed not only to direct fighting, but also to airstrikes, drone attacks, looting, and the collapse of medical and food-supply networks.
The United Nations has warned that drones are now a major driver of civilian deaths in Sudan. According to Reuters reporting on UN data, drone strikes accounted for about 80% of conflict-related civilian deaths in the first months of 2026, with at least 880 people killed by unmanned aerial vehicles between January and April.
The spread of drones has changed the battlefield. Both sides can now strike farther from front lines, hitting markets, hospitals, airports, fuel depots, and military positions with less warning. Rights groups say this has made civilian life even more precarious, because attacks increasingly occur in places that were once considered relatively removed from combat.
Sudan’s war has also drawn growing concern over foreign involvement. Analysts and humanitarian officials have warned that outside supplies of drones and weapons risk turning the conflict into a wider proxy war, prolonging the fighting and making accountability more difficult.
The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly. In nearby South Sudan, where violence linked to internal political rivalries is also worsening, Médecins Sans Frontières has accused armed actors of manipulating aid access for military and political purposes. The warning reflects a broader regional pattern: conflict zones across Sudan and its neighbors are becoming harder for relief groups to reach safely.
For Sudanese civilians, the latest market strike is another reminder that the war has moved far beyond military bases and front-line positions. Markets, hospitals, and transport hubs have become part of the battlefield, while millions remain trapped between armed groups, hunger, and a shrinking humanitarian lifeline.
The Ghubaysh attack may not change the course of the war by itself. But it captures the direction of the conflict: more drones, more civilian casualties, less accountability, and a country slipping deeper into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
