A drone strike near a market in Sudan's West Kordofan state killed 80 people on Sunday evening, according to witnesses and medical sources.

The strike targeted a transport hub in the town of al-Dibab where commuters gathered after market day to catch rides home. The drone struck twice, about 10 minutes apart. Ahmed Abakar Wadi, a witness, said he helped bury 50 bodies, including his brother Mohamed. Forty-seven others were taken to the nearby town of al-Mujlad, where 30 later died from injuries, a medical source reported.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controls West Kordofan, accused Sudan's army of carrying out the attack. The Sudanese Armed Forces have not publicly commented on the specific strike. The incident ranks among the deadliest single attacks in the civil war that began in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary RSF.

Drone use has escalated sharply in the conflict. Earlier reports noted that drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths between January and April alone, representing more than 80 percent of conflict-related civilian fatalities during that period.

The broader war has produced one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with aid groups estimating more than 200,000 deaths and millions displaced. Communications blackouts in affected areas have complicated independent verification of casualty figures.

Similar drone attacks have been reported in other parts of Sudan in recent days, including strikes in Khartoum and the disputed Abyei region, though those incidents involved different casualty counts.