A double-tap drone strike on October 18, 2026 hit a transport hub near a market in Al-Dibab, West Kordofan, killing 80 people as commuters gathered after market day. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and rights groups blamed the Sudanese military for the attack in the RSF-controlled region. The strike formed part of a broader escalation of drone warfare across Sudan, including strikes in Khartoum and Nyala that collectively pushed the death toll over 100 within 24 hours.
Al-dibab market drone strike
- ▪The Rapid Support Forces' self-declared administration, Tasis, and Emergency Lawyers accused the Sudanese military of executing the drone attack on Al-Dibab.
- ▪The drone in the Al-Dibab attack struck twice, ten minutes apart, targeting a transport hub where commuters gathered to return to their villages after market day ended.
- ▪An October 18, 2026 drone strike near a market in Al-Dibab, West Kordofan state, killed 80 people, with 50 buried at the scene and 47 injured transported to Al-Mujlad, where 30 died from injuries.
Drone strikes in Al-Mujlad
- ▪A secondary drone strike on Al-Mujlad injured four people who received medical treatment following the Al-Dibab bombing on October 18, 2026.
- ▪Emergency Lawyers reported that the Sudanese military bombed a market in al-Muglad with drones on Saturday, October 17, 2026.
Military situation in Kordofan
- ▪All of West Kordofan state, an oil-rich region linking western and eastern Sudan, is under the control of the Rapid Support Forces.
- ▪The Sudanese military has conducted repeated drone strikes in Kordofan in recent months to counter Rapid Support Forces territorial gains made after consolidating control over Darfur.
Widespread drone strikes across Sudan
- ▪A drone strike in the city center of Nyala on October 19, 2026 killed 17 people, including seven Rapid Support Forces officers, and destroyed two homes.
- ▪A drone strike on October 19, 2026 hit a home in the Imtidad Nasser neighborhood east of Khartoum airport, killing four people including three children aged two to six.
- ▪Sudanese military air defenses intercepted Rapid Support Forces drones targeting the Khartoum airport area and the Atbara and Setit dams in Gadaref state.
- ▪A wave of drone strikes across Khartoum, West Kordofan, and Nyala killed over 100 people starting October 18, 2026.
Drone strike death toll
- ▪The United Nations reported that more than 1,100 people were killed in drone attacks across Sudan during the first half of 2026.
- ▪Drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths in Sudan between January and April 2026, representing over 80% of all conflict-related civilian fatalities during that period.
UN Security Council debates
- ▪UN Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo informed the Security Council that the warring parties in Sudan are making no progress toward dialogue and rely on external support to make battlefield gains.
- ▪On Friday, October 16, 2026, the United States urged the UN Security Council to expand an arms embargo on Sudan, which China and Russia opposed.
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