At least 35 people were killed after a drone strike hit a traditional village court in Sudan’s western Darfur region during an ongoing court session, according to the human rights group Emergency Lawyers.
The organisation said the attack took place at around 1:00 pm local time on Sunday in Gara al-Zawiya village in North Darfur, where residents had gathered to attend hearings on local disputes and legal cases.
The village is currently under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Witnesses said the court proceedings were being held under a tree, with community elders and tribal leaders present at the time of the strike. One witness, speaking anonymously for security reasons, said four tribal leaders and two RSF commanders were among those killed.
The drone strike also damaged the court site, which has long served as a venue for resolving local and tribal disputes.
Sudan has been engulfed in civil war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
Gara al-Zawiya is located about 150 kilometres west of El Fasher, a city that was captured by the RSF last October after months of intense fighting. Before its fall, El Fasher had been the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region.
United Nations investigators have said the violence surrounding the siege and capture of El Fasher showed clear indications of genocide.
According to the United Nations, more than 1,000 civilians were killed in drone attacks during the first five months of this year alone.
The ongoing conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes, with the United Nations describing the crisis in Sudan as one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies.
