Drone Strike Kills 30 in Sudan’s Blue Nile Region, Al Jazeera Reports

At least 30 displaced people, including 26 women and four children, were killed and dozens wounded in a drone strike targeting Wad al-Mahi province in southeastern Sudan on October 9, 2026, Al Jazeera reported. The attack occurred just outside a displacement camp near an informal gold mining site close to the city of Damazin in the Blue Nile region.

Wad al-Mahi Province Struck Near Displacement Camp

The strike hit the center of Wad al-Mahi province on a Friday, according to local officials. Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Wadah Al-Tahir reported that the assault marked the latest in a wave of drone strikes across the Blue Nile region. The munitions struck near an informal gold mining site where women earn daily wages using chemicals and their bare hands to clear gold nuggets from earth extracted by men.

Governor Mahjoub Al-Sheikh of Wad al-Mahi province described the attack as cowardly in statements reported by Al Jazeera. According to the Agence France-Presse, Governor Al-Sheikh stated that the drone was launched from inside Ethiopia.

Border Frontline Strains Sudanese Army Defenses

The border region with Ethiopia has emerged as a new frontline in the ongoing civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan has repeatedly accused Ethiopia of harboring RSF fighters and bases, an allegation that Ethiopian authorities have denied. Local sources cited by AFP indicated that the porous border functions as a key supply line for the paramilitary group and its allies.

The RSF offensive toward Damazin threatens to place the Sudanese army in a strategic bind. Military forces must now divide their defense between the Blue Nile front and the Kordofan region, where a year of persistent drone strikes has left both warring sides deadlocked.

Displacement and Casualties Mount Across Blue Nile

Aid workers estimate that the broader civil war in Sudan has killed more than 200,000 people since fighting erupted in April 2023. The conflict has triggered one of the world’s most severe hunger and displacement crises.

United Nations figures show that nearly 100,000 people have been displaced within Blue Nile state alone over the course of the year.