Paramilitary forces drone strike kills 5 near Sudan capital, rights group says

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CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed at least five people in a drone attack that hit a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Khartoum, a local Sudanese rights group said.

The attack on Saturday morning hit a vehicle that was traveling from the White Nile province to Omdurman, the sister city of the capital, Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking violence against civilians, said in a statement. It added that the attack reflects continued targeting of civilians on public roads and in populated areas.

Khartoum has largely been spared attacks by the RSF since it was recaptured by the Sudanese Armed Forces last year, but the capital has recently seen sporadic strikes.

The Rapid Support Forces, which have been at war with the Sudanese Army for over three years, did not immediately claim the attack.

Emergency Lawyers condemned the attack and held the RSF responsible. “What happened was a brazen violation of international humanitarian law,” it said.

At least 59,000 people have been killed in the war that broke out in April 2023, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent conflict-monitoring body. Aid groups, however, say the true toll could be much higher, as access to areas of fighting across the vast country remains limited.