24 displaced people killed by drone in Sudan

A drone attack by a paramilitary group in Sudan has hit a vehicle carrying displaced families, killing at least 24 people, including 8 children.

The Rapid Support Forces are responsible for the attack occurring near the city of Er Rahad in North Kordofan province, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country's war. The vehicle was carrying displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area, the group said in a statement. Among the dead children were two infants.

Several others were wounded and taken for treatment in Er Rahad, which is suffering from severe medical supplies shortages, like many areas in the Kordofan region, the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war against the Sudanese military for control of the country for about three years.

In a strongly worded statement on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry criticised the RSF for its recent drone strikes, including on the vehicle of displaced families, the WFP convoy, and on a hospital in Kordofan that killed 22 people.

The Saudi statement called for the RSF to stop its attacks on civilians and aid convoys, and called out foreign parties that continue to "deliver illegal arms, mercenaries and foreign fighters"—an apparent reference to the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused by rights groups and UN experts of arming the paramilitary group. The UAE has denied the accusations.

In recent months, Kordofan has become a flashpoint in the war, and the army managed to break the RSF siege of two major cities in the region earlier this year.