Suspected army drone strikes on Sudan fuel markets kill at least five
July 21, 2025 (AL-FULA) – Suspected Sudanese army drone strikes on two fuel markets in West Kordofan state on Monday killed at least five people and caused massive fires, residents and a local volunteer group said.
The strikes hit the state capital Al-Fula and the nearby town of Abu Zabad, both controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The West Kordofan Emergency Room, a local response group, said one person was killed and six injured in Al-Fula, while four others were killed in the Abu Zabad strike. Both markets were destroyed entirely.
“The bombing of the fuel market in Al-Fula led to huge explosions… causing panic and fear among civilians,” a resident told Sudan Tribune.
A spokesman for a civilian administration formed by the RSF in the state accused the army of carrying out the “air raids,” claiming they resulted in “dozens of dead and injured.”
The army’s spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. The army has frequently bombed RSF-controlled areas in West Kordofan, which it says is necessary to cripple the group’s supply lines and movements.
The RSF controls most of West Kordofan, while the army holds the town of Babanusa and parts of the crucial Heglig oil fields.