Drone Strike Kills Dozens of Mourners at Funeral in Sudan

Dozens of mourners attending a funeral in central Sudan were killed when a drone strike hit their village, state officials said this week, adding to the wave of atrocities sweeping across the war-torn nation.

The strike occurred in North Kordofan, an oil-rich state bordering Darfur, where aid groups and activists have reported intensifying fighting between paramilitary forces and the Sudanese military.

Local sources reported that 40 people were killed in the assault, according to the United Nations. That figure was also given to Sudanese media by local officials, who blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F., the paramilitary fighters.

The state government described the drone strike as a brutal assault on a “peaceful and secure village,” and called on the international community to “take immediate action” to classify the R.S.F. as a terrorist organization. The state did not specify when the attack occurred, but its statement was issued Monday.

The state of North Kordofan, which has become a strategic crossroads for both sides in the conflict, sits east of Darfur, where witness accounts and images have suggested an unfolding massacre since the R.S.F. took control of a key city, El Fasher, in recent weeks. Thousands have tried to flee the city, but just a trickle have made it to safety.

The United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, said on Tuesday that the civil war in Sudan was “spiraling out of control.”

“People are dying of malnutrition, disease and violence. And we are hearing continued reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights,” he said while speaking in Qatar, adding that there were credible reports of widespread executions since the R.S.F. entered El Fasher.

The U.S. State Department last week condemned “the reported mass atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces,” and said the United States would keep working toward peace.

After reviewing a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire last month, Sudan’s defense minister said its military would continue its war against the R.S.F.

While the latest violence in Sudan has drawn global condemnation, few governments have been willing to openly criticize the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of backing the R.S.F.

Sudan’s long-running civil war is widely considered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The fighting has raged for more than two years, forced 12 million people from their homes and left as many as 400,000 people dead, by some estimates. On Monday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on hunger crises, declared a famine in El Fasher.

The attack on the mourners in North Kordofan added to gruesome reports from the aid group Sudan Doctors Network, which has described bodies piling up in homes in the region. According to analysts tracking the war, North Kordofan has seen an increased military buildup as each side jockeys for control of Sudan.