A wave of drone strikes in Sudan is reported to have killed more than 300 people, according to sources cited by the BBC, in what would be one of the deadliest single episodes since the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in 2023. The Sudan War Observatory, a monitoring group, said 150 people were killed in strikes in West Kordofan on Sunday evening, including 145 people in a truck carrying around 200 mourners to a funeral near Al-Dabab and five others in a funeral tent, with a further 150 people injured.

In Abyei, a disputed oil-rich territory on the Sudan–South Sudan border, the region's Information Minister Yohana Akol Ngor told Radio Tamazuj, the Associated Press and Reuters that the death toll from Monday's strike on Amiet Market, about 10 km from Abyei town, had risen from 73 to 153 on Tuesday. 'It is a horrible and shocking situation,' he was quoted as saying. A military source told the BBC that the Sudanese army carried out the Abyei attack, claiming the market served as a fuel supply point for the RSF — a claim reported as an allegation, not independently verified. Sudan's army has not responded to the allegation that it carried out these strikes, and in earlier statements has said it does not attack civilians.

BBC Verify said it had studied satellite images showing extensive burnt buildings in the north-east corner of Amiet Market, also known as Al-Na'am Market, and verified footage showing a large plume of smoke, a petrol tanker and two massive fires near that section of the market. Traders told the BBC the area is a weapons-free zone under United Nations protection, with more than 2,800 UN peacekeepers deployed in Abyei since 2011. South Sudan, which jointly administers the disputed territory with Sudan, has summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest the attack, amid concern the fighting could spread across the border.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday that the United Nations was concerned about continued deadly drone attacks across Sudan, which have killed civilians, including children, and disrupted essential services. He said the growing use of armed drones coincided with about 20 million people facing acute hunger, while the threat of famine was increasing in parts of Darfur and Greater Kordofan. The war has forced more than 14 million people from their homes, according to the UN.

All casualty figures in this story are reported figures attributed to the Sudan War Observatory, regional officials and sources speaking to the BBC, AP and Reuters; they have not been independently confirmed in full, and Awaaz Punjab presents them as attributed reports, not settled fact.

Sources: BBC reporting via Sudan War Observatory and Abyei Information Minister Yohana Akol Ngor (Radio Tamazuj, AP, Reuters); UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.