Drone strike near market in Sudan's West Kordofan kills 80, medical source tells AFP

As of 7:56 a.m. ET, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026

A drone strike near a market in the town of Al-Dibab in Sudan's West Kordofan state on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 18, killed 80 people, mostly commuters catching trucks home, a medical source and a witness told Agence France-Presse on Monday.

"A total of 80 people were killed in the drone strike on Al-Dibab, and another drone strike on Al-Mujlad injured four who are currently being treated," the medical source told AFP, requesting anonymity for his safety.

The witness, Ahmed Abakar Wadi, told AFP he had helped bury 50 bodies, including his brother. Wadi said 47 others were taken to the nearest town, Al-Mujlad, where 30 of them died from their injuries, according to a medical source, AFP reported. He spoke to AFP using a satellite internet connection to get around a communications blackout, the agency said.

Wadi said the drone struck twice, 10 minutes apart, "on a transport hub where people gather to travel back to their villages after the market day ends," according to AFP.

The RSF-declared administration, known as Tasis, accused the army of carrying out the strike, AFP reported. All of West Kordofan state is under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023.

GROKsiNEWS.com earlier reported on drone strikes in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in late September and early October, as the UN Security Council kept its Sudan arms embargo limited to Darfur.