A drone strike attributed to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces killed at least 41 people, including eight children, at a displacement camp in the Blue Nile region near the Ethiopian border on Friday. The Emergency Lawyers rights group reported the attack targeted the Abu Shandi area in Wad al-Mahi locality, where dozens more were wounded.

Initial accounts indicated that most victims were women and children gathered near the camp, close to an informal gold mining site. Some reports placed the death toll at around 40, with variations in preliminary counts from local officials and monitors.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs expressed horror at the strike and called for accountability. Denise Brown, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, stated that condemning the killings is essential but insufficient without addressing the disregard for international humanitarian law.

Sudan's civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF paramilitary has raged since April 2023. The conflict has claimed at least 150,000 lives according to monitors, though aid groups estimate higher figures, and displaced more than 12 million people, creating the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The RSF, which controls parts of western and southern Sudan, has faced repeated accusations of using drone strikes against civilian areas. The Sudanese army maintains control over central and eastern regions. Both sides have deployed drones amid the fighting.

The Blue Nile area has seen sustained attacks in recent weeks, displacing thousands more. The UN noted that the struck location had already endured repeated assaults, exposing additional civilians to harm.

No immediate comment came from RSF spokespeople on the incident. The strike adds to a pattern of civilian targeting that has drawn international condemnation but produced little concrete action to halt the violence.