RSF Drone Strike Kills 14 Civilians in Sudan Border Town

By Al Mayadeen English

27 May 2026 22:31

An RSF-linked drone strike killed 14 civilians, mostly women, in Sudan’s border town of al-Tina as violence and displacement continue to worsen across Darfur.

A drone strike blamed on the Rapid Support Forces killed at least 14 civilians in the Sudanese border town of al-Tina, as violence and displacement continue to escalate across the Darfur region.

A survivor and a local government official told AFP that the strike struck a market area on Monday in al-Tina, a town near the border with Chad that has repeatedly come under attack this year.

Locals recovering victims from the scene “found 14 bodies at the bomb site, most of them women,” the survivor said via satellite internet due to an ongoing communications blackout.

The witness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the attack “targeted a gathering of women selling food and tea in the al-Tina market.”

A Sudanese official also confirmed the strike and said authorities were “working to tally the number of casualties.”

Darfur crisis deepens

The attack comes as fighting intensifies between the Sudanese army and the RSF, whose war since April 2023 has devastated large parts of Sudan and triggered what humanitarian organizations describe as one of the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises.

Al-Tina lies in North Darfur, where famine conditions are worsening and large numbers of civilians have fled toward Chad. The RSF consolidated control over most of Darfur last year, although armed groups allied with the Sudanese army continue to hold several positions near the frontier, including areas around al-Tina.

The conflict has increasingly involved drone warfare, with both sides relying on unmanned strikes as fighting spreads across the country. According to the United Nations, at least 880 civilians were killed in drone attacks between January and April alone.

Meanwhile, survivors fleeing the RSF’s recent takeover of El Fasher have continued arriving at the Tine refugee transit center along the Sudanese-Chadian border, recounting abuses allegedly committed during the assault.

Siege horror unfolds

The famine-stricken city, once home to nearly one million residents, had endured an 18-month siege before RSF forces launched a major offensive on October 25.

Witnesses cited by Reuters described civilians escaping through the desert under severe conditions, with many arriving wounded, barefoot, or traumatized after days of walking.

According to testimonies from survivors, RSF fighters carried out executions, beatings, detentions, and looting during the operation.

“They could do nothing but watch as fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) opened fire on their loved ones and killed them,” survivors said, adding that civilians “were taken hostage and severely beaten. Their phones, shoes, and lifelong savings were stolen.”

Mohamed Adam, one of the displaced civilians, said he lost his wife, a former member of parliament, in a drone strike, while other survivors reported seeing relatives killed during mass executions allegedly carried out by RSF fighters.

Videos circulated online in recent days also appeared to show killings attributed to commanders affiliated with the paramilitary group.