Drone strike on North Darfur court kills at least 35

A drone strike on a customary court in al-Zawiya Ghara, North Darfur, killed at least 35 people on Sunday, according to the Emergency Lawyers Group, a Sudanese organization that monitors violence against civilians. The attack occurred while local leaders were conducting a meeting inside the building, with four missiles fired at the court, leaving additional people injured.

Attack details and victims

The court in al-Zawiya Ghara, a village controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was struck during a gathering of tribal leaders. Among the dead were two RSF field commanders, four tribal elders, and traditional leaders from the Mahameed branch of the Rizeigat, as reported by the Sudan Tribune. All the victims were either inside the court building or in its immediate surroundings when the missiles hit, the Emergency Lawyers Group said.

Rights groups demand accountability

The Emergency Lawyers Group denounced the targeting of the court, calling attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure a “grave violation of international humanitarian law.” The group also highlighted the increasing use of drones to strike civilian areas and gatherings, exacerbating risks for the population. The Sudan Founding Coalition, known as Tasis, which is largely dominated by the RSF, blamed the Sudanese army for the strike. Ahmed Tugod Lisan, a Tasis spokesperson, urged an independent investigation to hold those responsible to account.

Escalating drone warfare in Darfur

Sunday’s attack comes amid heightened Sudanese army drone operations across Darfur, as the military closes in on RSF positions following successive defeats in North Kordofan. The RSF, which also stands accused of committing war crimes, has been carrying out drone strikes on civilians over the past three years of the war. In October 2025, the RSF’s siege on el-Fasher, one of Darfur’s largest cities, bore the “hallmarks of genocide,” according to a United Nations fact-finding mission. The escalating use of drones on both sides has raised fears of further civilian casualties as fighting intensifies.

Judicial milestone on RSF atrocities

In a separate development, a court in Port Sudan sentenced RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and 15 other defendants to death in absentia in early July. The sentence was handed down by the anti-terrorism and crimes against the state court, presided over by Special Judge Mohamed al-Amin. The convictions related to the killing of West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar, crimes against humanity, war crimes, prohibited warfare, and genocide in el-Geneina. This was the first judicial conviction of the RSF’s leadership since the conflict began on 15 April 2023. The trial focused on the 2023 assassination of Governor Abakar, a day after he denounced an RSF shelling on the el-Jamarik neighbourhood. Human Rights Watch concluded in 2024 that actions in el-Geneina constituted ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide against the Masalit people and other non-Arab communities. The court also convicted Hemedti’s brothers, Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo and Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, along with Abdel Rahman Juma Barkallah, the RSF commander in West Darfur, and al-Tijani al-Tahir Karshoum, the state’s former deputy governor. The court held Hemedti legally responsible for directing the genocide of the Masalit and the siege of el-Geneina, citing systematic destruction, looting, and deliberate attacks on civilians, residential areas, schools, and places of worship.

The latest drone strike underscores the volatile security situation in Darfur, where both the Sudanese army and the RSF have increasingly used aerial attacks, often with devastating consequences for civilians. Rights groups continue to call for accountability and for an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure. As international pressure mounts, the need for independent investigations into such incidents becomes more urgent, particularly in a conflict that has already yielded a genocide conviction and displaced millions.