Drone strike kills over 40 at wedding in North Darfur’s Kutum
April 9, 2026 (KUTUM) – More than 40 people, including members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were killed Wednesday evening in a drone strike on a social gathering in Kutum, North Darfur.
Kutum has been under RSF control since the early months of the conflict that began in April 2023. The town has faced repeated drone strikes, suspected to be carried out by the Sudanese army, targeting RSF positions, the local rural hospital, and the main market.
Local sources told Sudan Tribune that at least 40 people died and over 100 were injured when a drone hit a home during a wedding ceremony in the Al-Salam neighbourhood. The strike reportedly destroyed dozens of houses, leaving many families displaced.
Alaeddine Naqd, spokesperson for the “Tasis” coalition, a political body aligned with the RSF, claimed in a statement that a Sudanese army drone strike killed 56 people, including 17 children, and wounded 107 others.
Naqd described the attack as an extension of the army’s “racist approach” and called on Sudanese citizens to denounce the armed forces and support the coalition to end what he termed “terrorism.”
The bombing in Kutum coincided with rising internal tensions within the RSF. Military sources reported that the RSF leadership in North Darfur moved to disarm a prominent local field commander in Kutum over suspicions regarding his loyalty to Mahameed tribal leader Musa Hilal.
A large military force arrived from El Fasher to enforce the disarmament and arrest the commander. However, he refused to surrender his weapons and sought protection from his kinsmen, sparking fears of internal clashes within the RSF.
Relations between the RSF and Musa Hilal have deteriorated sharply in recent months. On February 22, Hilal survived an RSF drone strike targeting his guest house in Misteriya.
Following that incident, the RSF launched a ground offensive to seize the Mahameed stronghold of Misteriya. Hilal subsequently withdrew to Al Dabbah in Northern State before travelling to Khartoum.
Since the takeover of Misteriya, the RSF has been accused of committing abuses against members of the Mahameed tribe in North and West Darfur, including killings, arrests, and strict surveillance of tribal members serving within RSF ranks.