SUDANESE ARMY DRONE STRIKE KILLS 35 AT DARFUR COURT

The Sudanese army struck a traditional court in the village of Garra al-Zawaya in North Darfur on Sunday with drone fire, killing at least 35 people and wounding several others, according to Emergency Lawyers, a rights group documenting abuses by both sides of Sudan's civil war. The attack occurred at approximately 1:00 pm local time as civilians gathered to attend court hearings on local cases and disputes. A witness told AFP that the court session was being held under a tree with the participation of local community leaders, and that among those killed were four tribal leaders and two Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanders. The Sudanese army did not immediately respond to the allegation.

The RSF, a paramilitary group locked in conflict with the army since April 2023, claimed a higher death toll. The RSF's self-declared government said 37 people had been killed and 50 others wounded, and condemned the strike as "a horrific crime". Garra al-Zawaya lies in territory controlled by the RSF, near the town of Kabkabiya approximately 150 kilometres west of El-Fasher, the army's former stronghold in Darfur. The RSF captured El-Fasher in a bloody offensive in October 2024 following a siege that UN investigators said bore "the hallmarks of genocide".

Both the army and RSF have increasingly relied on drone warfare since the El-Fasher campaign. The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia, which faced accusations of atrocities in Darfur during the early 2000s. The wider Sudan conflict, which began in April 2023 between supporters of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has killed tens of thousands of people according to available reports.