Drone Strike Kills Four at Sudan Funeral, RSF Blamed

Wed Jun 17 2026 08:56:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A drone fired by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces killed at least four people at a funeral procession in El‑Obeid, adding to the escalating violence in the war-torn region.

A 15‑minute drone attack on a funeral convoy at a cemetery in Sudan’s El‑Obeid caused four deaths and multiple injuries, according to human rights groups. The incident follows a wave of strikes that began Wednesday evening, killing at least 23 civilians across the city. Both the Sudan Doctors Network and Emergency Lawyers attribute the attacks to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), although the group has not issued comments. El‑Obeid, held by the army, sits at the center of the conflict over resource and territorial control in the oil-rich Kordofan region, and the war has displaced over 11 million people with 28 million facing acute hunger.

Drone Strike Kills Four at Sudan Funeral, RSF Blamed

A drone launched from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck a funeral procession at a cemetery in the Sudanese city of El‑Obeid, killing at least four people and wounding a further several, human rights groups report.

The attack is part of a sharp escalation that began on Wednesday evening, when a series of drone strikes left at least 23 civilians dead across the city. The Sudan Doctors Network and Emergency Lawyers, whose statements are the primary source of these figures, say the RSF has used unmanned aircraft to target civilian crowds, setting wells of brutality in the ongoing civil war that has already displaced more than 11 million people and left 28 million suffering acute hunger.

El‑Obeid has shifted hands in the conflict: currently held by the army, it forms a critical frontline because of its central position between RSF‑controlled western territories and army‑led eastern zones. Control over the city translates into power over the country’s oil supply and a share of its broader resources.

The RSF has not released any comment about the assault. In surrounding neighborhoods, drones reportedly struck residential areas, an airport district, and sites around an army base, killing thirteen civilians and leaving a trail of destruction. An additional incident involved a lorry carrying food supplies; the driver died when the vehicle was hit during a strike.

Observers note that attacks have become systematic and repeated, targeting civilian movement and noncombatants over several days. A resident of the area laments the relentless from the roofs to the graves, saying the houses collapsed and “no one could have survived” in some scenes.