News Center_ Vast areas of Sudan are witnessing a notable escalation in the use of drones within military operations; amid warning of increasing risks, they pose to civilians.

A medical source and eyewitnesses reported that a drone launched a strike yesterday, Thursday, April 9, on the city of Kutm in North Darfur state in western Sudan, resulting in the deaths of 40 people, including 17 children, and injuring 107 others.

One eyewitness said that the attack targeted a social gathering inside a home in the Al-Salamah neighborhood, where a wedding celebration was taking place with a large number of attendees, which led to the high casualty toll. He added that the drone came from the northeastern side of the city and fired shells that hit the targeted house, destroying four neighboring homes.

For its part, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the Sudanese army of responsibility for the attack, stating that an army drone targeted a civilian gathering in Kutm, killing dozens of civilians. No official comment has yet been issued by the Sudanese army regarding the incident or the accusations against it.

The city of Kutm is located about 120 kilometers northwest of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and has been under the control of the RSF since the first months of the conflict that broke out on April 15, 2023.

On March 24 last year, the United Nations announced that more than 500 civilians, mostly in the Kordofan and Darfur regions, had been killed as a result of drone strikes during the period from January to mid-March of that year.

Since the outbreak of the conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, the clashes have left tens of thousands dead and caused the displacement of millions of people inside and outside Sudan, according to international organizations' estimates.