The United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in Sudan on Saturday condemned a drone strike near a displacement site in Blue Nile state that killed at least 31 civilians, mostly women and children.
Denise Brown, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said dozens of other people were injured, some seriously, in the strike in Wad Al Mahi. She warned that the death toll could rise.
The area, which is under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has come under attack in the past week, Brown said in a statement issued on Saturday.
The people sheltering at the site had been displaced by recent fighting in Geissan and Kurmuk localities, she said.
Brown called for accountability, saying the attack demonstrates a flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law, which protects civilians and humanitarian and medical personnel during armed conflict.
She also cited a similar attack on a shelter for displaced people in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, about a week earlier, which killed and injured civilians, including children.
Parts of Blue Nile state have faced repeated attacks in recent weeks, displacing thousands of people and exposing civilians to further violence and hardship, Brown said.
Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), triggering widespread displacement and a major humanitarian crisis.
The statement did not identify those responsible for the drone strike.
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