More than 100 people were killed and 113 others injured in a drone strike on a crowded market in Nyala, southwestern Sudan, according to the Emergency Lawyers rights group, which monitors violence in the country.
The strike took place on Monday evening at Tanqong Market in the Dumaya neighbourhood of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, the group said in a statement reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday. Many of the victims were women and children, it added.
Emergency Lawyers blamed the Sudanese Armed Forces for the attack and called for an independent investigation. The group condemned the strike, saying it had turned a civilian marketplace into a scene of mass casualties and further deepened the suffering of residents caught up in the war.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, reported that its supported Nyala Teaching Hospital had received the bodies of 36 people and treated more than 150 wounded patients following the strike. MSF said a second strike had also hit a civilian neighbourhood.
The casualty figures reported by the different sources vary. Emergency Lawyers reported more than 100 deaths and 113 injuries, while MSF cited the number of bodies received at the hospital and patients treated by its medical teams. The full toll has not been independently established.
Nyala is controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been fighting Sudan’s national army since April 2023. The conflict erupted after a power struggle between the army and the RSF and has since devastated large parts of the country.
Drone attacks have become an increasingly deadly feature of the conflict, with both sides using drones as fighting intensifies. The United Nations has warned that attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure are worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.
According to the UN’s 2026 humanitarian plan, around 33.7 million people in Sudan, roughly two-thirds of the population need humanitarian assistance. Millions have been displaced, while hunger, disease and disruptions to health services continue to threaten civilian lives.
The attack underscores growing concerns over the protection of civilians in Sudan. Rights groups and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly called on the warring parties to protect civilian areas and ensure that those responsible for attacks on civilians are held accountable.
