Dozens killed in RSF drone attack in war-torn Sudan’s South Kordofan

Dozens of people have been killed in a drone attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a key town in war-torn Sudan’s South Kordofan state, according to local media reports.

Multiple areas of Dilling, including the headquarters of the Sudanese army’s 54th Brigade and the central market, were struck by suicide drones during Wednesday’s attack, the Sudan Tribune reported, citing local sources and medical groups.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the latest RSF attack, which came a day after the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced that it had broken a nearly two-year-long RSF siege on Dilling, gaining control over key supply lines.

Dilling lies halfway between Kadugli – the besieged state capital – and el-Obeid, the capital of neighbouring North Kordofan province, which the RSF has sought to encircle.

The RSF and the SAF have been waging a brutal civil war for control of Sudan since April 2023, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

Since the siege was lifted, Dilling has endured a wave of drone attacks that have destroyed service facilities and caused several casualties.

Military sources told the Sudan Tribune that the RSF was attempting to reinstate the blockade, though the SAF continues to hold the area and repel assaults near the strategic town of Habila in North Kordofan state.

Amid these clashes, the Sudan Doctors Network has called for an urgent humanitarian corridor to deliver life-saving food and medicine. Local sources said the situation on the ground remains desperate, with a severe lack of health services and a critical shortage of essential supplies, particularly intravenous fluids.

After being forced out of the capital, Khartoum, in March, the RSF has focused on the Kordofan region and el-Fasher city in North Darfur state, which was the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region until the RSF seized it in October.

Reports of the paramilitary carrying out mass killings, rape, abductions and looting emerged after el-Fasher’s takeover, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched a formal investigation into “war crimes” by both sides.

Dilling has reportedly experienced severe hunger, but the world’s leading authority on food security, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, did not declare famine there in its November report because of a lack of data.

A United Nations-backed assessment last year confirmed famine in Kadugli, which has been under RSF siege for more than a year and a half.

More than 65,000 people have fled the Kordofan region since October, according to the latest UN figures.

The conflict has created what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis, though some people have returned to their homes despite shattered infrastructure.

At its peak, the war has displaced about 14 million people, both internally and across borders.

Thousands escaping violence have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad, which already hosts more than 880,000 Sudanese refugees. Although now safe from immediate danger, many refugees struggle to survive as humanitarian funding continues to decrease.