An RSF-allied coalition has denied responsibility for the attack in Blue Nile state and accused Egypt of conducting it
The death toll from a drone strike blamed on Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) near a camp for displaced people in Blue Nile state has risen to 41, according to a local rights group.
On Friday, the Emergency Lawyers group reported the revised death toll, accusing the RSF of targeting civilians. Local authorities have put the number of fatalities at 32, with another 43 people injured, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. The attack took place also on Friday in the Abu Shandi area, near the Ethiopian border.
The RSF-allied Sudan Founding Alliance (TASIS) has denied responsibility for the attack, instead accusing Egypt of carrying it out. In a statement reported by the Sudan Times on Saturday, coalition spokesman Ahmed Tugud Lisan claimed that an Egyptian drone had been launched from a police facility in Wad al-Mahi with the involvement of Egyptian specialists. The allegations against Egypt have not been independently verified.
The rights organization Shahid Evidence has called for an independent international investigation into the incident, including an examination of the drone’s type, flight path, and launch location. The group said responsibility should be established through physical and digital evidence, as well as witness testimony.
Separately, at least 72 gold miners were killed in an airstrike near Sudan’s border with Egypt on Saturday, according to Emergency Lawyers. The organization accused the Egyptian Air Force of carrying out the attack, but the allegation has not been independently verified. Egypt has not officially commented on the incident. The Sudan Tribune reported that survivors put the death toll at more than 200, although the figure remains unconfirmed.
The attacks come amid an ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023. According to UN estimates, 33.7 million people in Sudan need humanitarian assistance, while more than 8.5 million remain internally displaced.
Several RSF commanders have defected to the Sudanese Army since 2024. Most recently, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Azraq al-Fanjari reportedly switched sides with around 300 fighters and 30 military vehicles on Thursday.
