Rapid Support Forces drone strikes killed four civilians in Sudan's Kordofan region on Tuesday, according to local witnesses and the Sudanese Doctors' Committee. The strikes targeted a market area in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state [1].

The RSF's drone capability has expanded significantly since the ceasefire collapse between Iran and the United States. The drones used in Tuesday's strikes are Shahed-variant models — the same Iranian-designed platforms that struck US bases in Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE on June 10. The RSF acquired the technology through Iranian supply channels that have deepened as the civil war has progressed [2].

Kordofan has been a contested zone throughout Sudan's civil war, which began in April 2023. The RSF controls much of the region. The Sudanese Armed Forces retain positions in Kadugli. Tuesday's strikes hit an area controlled by neither side — a civilian market that served as a neutral trading zone [1].

The civilian death toll in Sudan's civil war has exceeded 150,000 since 2023, according to the United Nations. Drone strikes represent an escalation in the RSF's tactical capability — shifting from ground operations to air-delivered attacks that target areas previously considered outside the conflict's front lines [3].

Aid organizations operating in Kordofan reported that the strikes disrupted supply routes that serve approximately 2 million displaced persons. The World Food Programme suspended operations in South Kordofan pending security assessment [2].

-- AMARA OKONKWO, Lagos