Drone strike on North Kordofan courthouse kills 13, RSF blamed

A drone attack attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the courthouse in Umm Ruwaba, North Kordofan, on Saturday killed an estimated 13 people, local officials said. The strike, which hit the building during a session of the local court, also damaged surrounding structures and left several others injured. The RSF, which has been locked in a violent struggle with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since 2023, has not yet confirmed responsibility, but witnesses and security analysts point to the paramilitary group’s growing use of aerial weaponry in the conflict‑torn western region.

The RSF traces its origins to the Janjaweed militias that operated with the Sudanese government during the Darfur war, later being formalised as a state‑backed paramilitary in August 2013 under the leadership of Mohamed Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”. After the 2021 coup that placed the RSF and SAF together in a joint military junta, the alliance quickly unraveled. By 2023 the two forces were openly battling for control of the country’s capital, Khartoum, and other strategic territories. The RSF’s campaign has been marked by systematic attacks on civilians perceived to support the SAF, including mass killings of non‑Arab groups in Darfur and reprisals against Arab communities in Khartoum and Gezira. International observers have documented widespread war‑crimes committed by RSF units, prompting calls for accountability from the United Nations and human‑rights organisations.

The conflict’s geography has broadened beyond the capital. North Kordofan, a largely agricultural province, sits on a corridor linking the Sahel to the Nile Valley, making it a contested zone for both sides. The RSF’s recent deployment of drones—an escalation from its usual ground‑based assaults—suggests an attempt to project power deeper into government‑held areas and to undermine civilian institutions that could bolster SAF legitimacy. The courthouse, a symbol of civil governance, was reportedly targeted because it was hosting a hearing related to land disputes that have become entangled with the broader war. The RSF’s capacity to strike such targets reflects a growing arsenal reportedly supplied, at least in part, by external actors, including the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of providing covert financial and logistical support.

The SAF, meanwhile, has condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law and has pledged to intensify air‑defence measures around civilian infrastructure. In recent weeks, the Sudanese army has launched counter‑offensives in the north, aiming to reclaim key supply routes and to protect vulnerable populations from RSU‑linked raids. However, the SAF’s own record of indiscriminate shelling and forced displacement has complicated its narrative as a protector of civilians. Both sides continue to vie for the allegiance of local militias and tribal groups, whose loyalties shift according to security guarantees, resource access, and ethnic affiliations.

The incident in Umm Ruwaba underscores the increasingly indiscriminate nature of the Sudanese civil war, where the line between combatants and civilians is eroding. The use of drones against a civilian judicial facility raises concerns about the proliferation of unmanned technology among non‑state actors in the region. Moreover, the attack threatens to destabilise an already fragile province that supplies a significant portion of Sudan’s grain output, potentially disrupting food supplies both domestically and for neighbouring countries that rely on Sudanese exports. International donors, already wary of channeling aid into a conflict zone, may face heightened scrutiny and pressure to condition assistance on measurable steps toward de‑escalation. As the war drags on, the risk of spillover into neighboring Chad and the broader Sahel, where armed groups already operate, remains a pressing security challenge for the African continent and for external powers monitoring the Red Sea corridor and the Horn of Africa’s stability.