35 dead in Sudan army drone strike on Darfur civil court

At least 35 civilians were killed when Sudanese army drones struck a civil court in North Darfur’s Al-Zawiya Gara village, according to rights group Emergency Lawyers. The group condemned the attack on a civilian facility as a grave violation of international humanitarian law and demanded an investigation.

Cairo:  At least 35 people were killed in a Sudanese army drone strike on a civil court in Sudan’s Darfur region, a rights group said.

Emergency Lawyers, an independent group documenting atrocities in Sudan, said on Sunday afternoon drones targeted the headquarters of the civil court in Al-Zawiya Gara village in North Darfur State, “a civilian facility that plays a judicial and social role in the region”.

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“Directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” said the group in a statement, and demanded an investigation.

Sudan plunged into all-out war in April 2023, between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military, leaving at least 59,000 people killed, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a conflict-monitoring group. Aid groups say the figure is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

Drone warfare has become a signature in the country’s battle, with both sides carrying out strikes. It is now the leading cause of death in Sudan, according to the United Nations, accounting for 80 per cent of civilian deaths during the first four months of 2026.

The Sudanese army did not respond to requests for comment.