Drone strike kills 31 civilians at Sudan displacement site, UN says

A drone strike next to a displacement site in Sudan's Blue Nile State has killed at least 31 civilians, mostly women and children, the United Nations said on Saturday.

"I am horrified by reports of a drone strike next to a displacement site in Wad Al Mahi, Blue Nile State, an area under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces that has come under attack in the past week," said Denise Brown, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, in a statement issued from Khartoum.

Preliminary information indicates that dozens more were injured, some seriously, and Brown warned that casualty figures may rise further. The people at the site had been displaced by recent hostilities in the Geissan and Kurmuk localities.

Brown condemned the killings and called for accountability for what she described as a flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law. "Condemning these senseless killings is essential, but there must also be accountability," she said.

A similar attack took place on a displacement shelter in El Obeid in North Kordofan State a week ago, killing and injuring more civilians, including children. Areas of Blue Nile State have been under continuous attack in recent weeks, displacing thousands of civilians and exposing many more to death, direct harm, and further hardship, according to the UN.

"As each day goes by in this war, the world continues to accept the suffering of the people of Sudan," Brown said.