RSF drone strike on Sudan funeral in Kordofan region kills 40 mourners

An attack on a funeral in the key city of El-Obeid in Sudan's central Kordofan region killed 40 people, the UN said Wednesday, as paramilitaries looked poised to launch an offensive.

The United Nations' humanitarian office did not specify when the attack occurred or who was responsible, but stated that the situation in the Kordofan region was continuing to deteriorate.

The war in Sudan, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more, has spread to new areas in recent days, sparking fears of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with the military since 2023, was preparing to launch an assault in Kordofan after capturing Al-Fashir, the last remaining army stronghold in the vast western Darfur region.

"Local sources report that at least 40 civilians were killed and dozens injured yesterday in an attack on a funeral gathering in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State," the UN's OCHA agency said.

"Once again, OCHA calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law."

People forced to flee Al-Fashir have described horrific abuse, including rape, at the hands of the RSF.

"The rapes were gang rapes. Mass rape in public, rape in front of everyone and no one could stop it," mother of four Amira said from a makeshift shelter in Tawila, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of Al-Fashir.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said more than 300 survivors of sexual violence had sought care from its teams in Tawila after a previous RSF assault on the nearby Zamzam camp, which displaced more than 380,000 people last spring.

"You'd be asleep and they'd come and rape you," said Amira, using a pseudonym while speaking during a webinar organised by campaign group Avaaz.

"I saw with my own eyes people who couldn't afford to pay and the fighters took their daughters instead. They said, 'Since you can't pay, we'll take the girls.' If you had daughters of a young age, they would take them immediately."

Both sides in the war have been accused of committing atrocities.