KHARTOUM, Sudan — A suspected drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit the main prison in the southern city of Obeid on Saturday, killing at least 20 inmates and wounding 50 others, according to Sudanese authorities, in one of the latest deadly escalations in the country’s deepening civil war.
The strike targeted the central prison in Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, roughly 225 miles south of Khartoum. Information Minister Khalid Aleiser, who also serves as spokesperson for Sudan’s military-backed government, directly blamed the RSF for the attack, saying it reflects the militia’s growing use of drone warfare against military-controlled areas nationwide.
The RSF has not issued a statement on the prison strike, but the group has intensified its aerial assaults in recent weeks, including a multi-day drone offensive earlier this month on the government’s temporary seat in Port Sudan. Those strikes hit critical infrastructure, including airports, fuel depots and maritime facilities.
Sudan descended into civil war on April 15, 2023, when power struggles between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF erupted into open fighting in Khartoum and rapidly spread across the country. Over the past year, the RSF has increasingly turned to drones, shifting the battlefield dynamics and targeting both military installations and civilian sites.
In a separate incident Friday, RSF artillery fire struck a displacement camp in Darfur, killing at least 14 people, according to the Emergency Room, a grassroots group monitoring the war. Victims included two parents, their eight children, and the children’s grandmother. The RSF has repeatedly shelled the camp and nearby el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, which it has sought to capture for over a year.
Last month, RSF fighters overran Zamzam, Sudan’s largest camp for internally displaced people, killing more than 400 civilians and forcing thousands to flee. The militia has since taken control of the camp.
In response to the RSF’s growing drone capacity, Sudan’s military launched a counteroffensive last week, striking Nyala airport in South Darfur — a key RSF stronghold reportedly used to receive foreign military support. Local media outlets report that dozens of RSF officers were killed in that attack.
The conflict has so far claimed at least 24,000 lives, though aid agencies believe the actual toll is much higher. More than 13 million people have been displaced, including 4 million who have fled to neighboring countries. Vast areas of Sudan are now on the brink of famine, while the war continues to be marked by widespread atrocities — including mass sexual violence and ethnically motivated killings that the United Nations says amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly in the Darfur region.
