RSF attacks kill at least 13 civilians in Sudan’s El-Obeid, Al-Dabbah
April 9, 2025 (EL OBEID, Sudan) – At least 13 people were killed and others injured in Sudan on Wednesday following air and artillery attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Al-Dabbah in Northern State and El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan.
The attacks followed four consecutive days during which the RSF reportedly targeted civilian and military sites in Northern State and River Nile State with drones, causing significant damage, including to the Merowe Dam.
The intensification of air attacks on cities in northern Sudan comes after threats allegedly made by the RSF’s deputy commander, Abdel Rahim Daglo, to invade Northern and River Nile states.
A statement from the Al-Dabbah locality administration, obtained by Sudan Tribune, said the area was attacked by drones around 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday. “While the vigilant Armed Forces dealt with them at the time, one drone strayed from its intended target and crashed into a citizen’s home, killing an entire family of six, including children,” the statement read.
In El-Obeid, the North Kordofan capital, the state’s Ministry of Health announced the deaths of seven members of a single family in the Shikan neighbourhood after an artillery shell, allegedly fired by the RSF towards the city, struck their location.
A press statement by the Ministry described the incident as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.” It called upon the international community, human rights organizations, and UN agencies to condemn the act and take a “decisive stance against the hostile and systematic behaviour targeting civilians.”
The Ministry statement added that the “crimes and violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces against women, children, and the elderly have become a recurring pattern and rise to the level of war crimes.”
For weeks, the city of El-Obeid has endured repeated artillery shelling attributed to the RSF, which has reportedly killed numerous civilians and caused massive destruction to homes.
The shelling of the North Kordofan capital follows the Sudanese army’s success on Feb. 23 in breaking a nearly two-year siege imposed on El-Obeid by the RSF.