The heavy toll of drone strikes on Blue Nile State

18 March 2026

As the conflict intensifies in the Blue Nile State region between the army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied forces, so too have the drone strikes. In just two months this year, from February to March, army drone strikes have killed at least 44 civilians in southern Blue Nile, according to local humanitarian actors.

Whether from larger towns such as Yabus along the Sudan-Ethiopian border or smaller villages such as Shali Al Feeli, indiscriminate drone strikes have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure, inducing mass displacement. In Yabus alone, drone strikes in March destroyed a hospital, the main market, and over 2,000 homes, displacing hundreds in the process. Given the dearth of humanitarian aid in the area, many of those displaced have nowhere to go and have resorted to sleeping in the open forest areas.