Sudan: Dozens killed in drone strike on bus, says NUP

More than 45 passengers were killed on Wednesday in a drone strike that targeted a passenger bus in the Teibat El Hasnab area, located between Rabak, the capital of White Nile state, and Khartoum, according to the National Umma Party (NUP).

The bus, which had been travelling from Rabak’s El Soug El Shaabi (the popular market) in White Nile state towards Khartoum when it was hit, passed through checkpoints, of which some were manned by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and and others by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It was reportedly struck while travelling through RSF-controlled territory near the Khartoum-White Nile state border, the NUP said in a statement yesterday.

The party condemned the attack, describing it as both a war crime and a crime against humanity. The party emphasised that the ongoing conflict had “violated all moral boundaries” by directly targeting civilians. It called for an immediate end to the violence, noting the increasing use of airstrikes and artillery against civilian targets.

The Civil Democratic Forces alliance (Tagadom) also condemned the bombing in a separate statement on Thursday, labelling the strike a “full-fledged war crime” and expressing outrage that “a significant number of the victims were children, women, and elderly people”.

Tagadom urged the SAF, the RSF, and their allies to cease harassment of civilians, end restrictions on their movement, and “stop targeting individuals based on ethnicity, tribe, or political affiliation”.

Drones have played an increasingly significant role in the ongoing war in Sudan. In late July, the head of the ruling junta, and de facto president of Sudan, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, survived an apparent assassination attempt by drone attack during a parade in Red Sea state.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for an expansion of the Sudan arms embargo in a report which found that the warring parties in Sudan “have access to and are using modern, foreign-made weapons and equipment”, including drones, which were acquired after the war broke out on April 15, 2023.