CAIRO – An independent Sudanese human rights documentation group has confirmed that a drone strike carried out by the Sudanese army on a civilian judicial facility in the country’s restive Darfur region has left at least 35 people dead. In a public statement released Sunday afternoon, Emergency Lawyers — the organization tracking atrocities committed amid Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict — said the attack targeted the main headquarters of the civil court in Al-Zawiya Gara, a village located in North Darfur State. The group emphasized that the targeted site is a clearly marked civilian infrastructure that serves core judicial and community functions for the local population.
The rights group stressed in its statement that deliberately launching strikes against civilian people and civilian infrastructure amounts to a severe breach of established international humanitarian law. It has formally called for an independent, full-scale investigation into the incident to hold all responsible parties accountable.
Sudan’s ongoing full-scale internal conflict broke out in April 2023, pitting the country’s official military against the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, an independent conflict monitoring initiative, shows the fighting has already claimed at least 59,000 lives. International aid organizations working in the region warn this official tally is a significant undercount, and note the actual death toll could be multiple times higher than the recorded figure.
Drone strikes have emerged as a defining feature of the 18-month-long war, with both warring factions routinely carrying out aerial attacks across the country. According to United Nations analysis, drone attacks have become the single leading cause of fatalities in Sudan, responsible for roughly 80% of all civilian deaths recorded in the first four months of 2024. As of Monday, the Sudanese military had not issued any response to repeated requests for comment on the Al-Zawiya Gara strike.