More than 20 people, mostly women and children, were killed on Friday in a drone strike targeting artisanal gold miners in Abu Shandi, also known as Medina 6, in Wad al-Mahi Locality in Sudan’s Blue Nile state on Friday, local sources and civil society groups said.
Ali Hajjo, Secretary-General of the Blue Nile Civil Society Initiative, said more than 20 people had been killed in the attack.
“More than 20 people have been killed, mostly women and children,” Hajjo told Radio Tamazuj, condemning the attack and calling for civilians to be protected.
He pointed out that a drone had struck a water facility in Abu Shandi, killing many people mostly women and children.
The initiative accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the attack using a suicide drone. Radio Tamazuj could not independently verify the allegation.
The Blue Nile Civil Society Initiative called for an independent and transparent investigation into the attack and for those responsible to be held accountable.
It also urged authorities and humanitarian organisations to provide urgent medical assistance to the wounded and take measures to protect civilians and essential infrastructure, including water sources relied upon by residents and displaced people.
Meanwhile, Issam Geisan, a civil society activist in Blue Nile state, told Radio Tamazuj that the area was hosting large numbers of displaced people who had not been included on lists for humanitarian assistance. Many had turned to artisanal gold mining to earn money to support their families, he said.
“People prefer to stay near the gold mines so they can sell small quantities of gold in the markets and bring money home to their families,” Geisan said.
He said women made up a large proportion of those working in the mining area and that many displaced families had few other means of meeting their basic needs.
Geisan said more than 20 displaced people had been killed in the strike, most of them women. He estimated that the nearest military base was between 30 and 50 km from the site.
He called on humanitarian and human rights organisations to document the incident and urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians during armed conflict.
RSF officials in the state could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF following a power struggle between the two forces. The conflict has killed civilians, displaced millions of people and devastated infrastructure, while restricting access to humanitarian assistance across large parts of the country.
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