A drone strike on Nyala market in South Darfur at about 21:00 EAT (8 p.m. local time) on Monday, Oct. 26, killed at least 21 people, according to medical and rights groups that put the toll as high as more than 100.
UNICEF said at least five children aged 7 to 14 were among the dead. Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, said at least 36 bodies reached Nyala Teaching Hospital and more than 150 people were wounded.
An army-aligned force gave a different account. Its spokesperson said the strike hit a militia camp, a claim AP reported it could not verify.
What UNICEF said about the drone strike on Nyala market
UNICEF said three boys and two girls, aged 7 to 14, were killed and two were injured in the drone attack on the market. UN News published the statement on Thursday, Oct. 29. UNICEF did not say who carried out the strike.
A trip to the market should never cost a child their life.
Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, via UN NewsKadilli added: “The killing and injuring of children must end.”
What MSF and a rights group said
MSF said at least 36 bodies reached Nyala Teaching Hospital, 21 of them in civilian clothing, and that more than 150 wounded people arrived. Women and children were among those treated, the organization said.
MSF said a second strike hit a civilian neighborhood and blamed the Sudanese Armed Forces. Dale Koninckx, MSF project coordinator in Nyala, said: “Markets, homes, and key civilian infrastructure are not targets.”
MSF also said a similar drone strike hit Al Mawashi market in Nyala on Oct. 16.
Emergency Lawyers, a rights group, said more than 100 people were killed and 113 wounded, many of them women and children. The group blamed the Sudanese military and called for an independent investigation, AAP reported. “This massacre transformed a civilian marketplace into a scene of mass killing and injury,” the group said.
What the army-aligned force and witnesses said
The Sudan Doctors Network said at least 21 people were killed and more than 40 wounded, and called the attack shelling, AP reported.
Mohamed Didan, spokesperson for the army-aligned Special Operations Forces, called it a “precise and targeted airstrike”. He said more than 150 “militia recruits” were killed at the Dumaya camp west of Nyala. AP said that claim could not be verified.
Two witnesses, who spoke to AP anonymously, said fighters of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gather at the market, and that civilians, mostly women selling tea and food, gather there to sell to them. They said many fighters were also killed. One witness estimated about 14 civilians were dead.
The figures by source
| Source | Figure | Who it blames or note |
|---|---|---|
| UNICEF (via UN News) | At least 5 children killed, 2 injured | UNICEF did not say who carried out the strike |
| MSF | At least 36 bodies at hospital, 21 in civilian clothing; more than 150 wounded | Blamed the Sudanese Armed Forces |
| Emergency Lawyers (via AAP) | More than 100 killed, 113 wounded | Blamed the Sudanese military; called for an independent investigation |
| Sudan Doctors Network (via AP) | At least 21 killed, more than 40 wounded | Called it shelling |
| Special Operations Forces (via AP) | More than 150 “militia recruits” killed at Dumaya camp | Army-aligned; called it an airstrike; AP could not verify |
| One of two witnesses (via AP) | About 14 civilians dead | Estimate given to AP |
Why the death tolls differ
The sources count different things. UNICEF reported only child casualties. MSF counted bodies and wounded people who reached one hospital. Emergency Lawyers reported more than 100 killed, and the Sudan Doctors Network at least 21.
The accounts also differ on who was at the market. Witnesses told AP civilians sold food to RSF fighters there, while the Special Operations Forces said the dead were militia recruits at a camp west of Nyala. AP said it could not independently verify the figures.
Independent checking is limited. AAP reported that the RSF controls Nyala. UNICEF did not say who carried out the strike, and Emergency Lawyers called for an independent investigation.
Child casualties in Sudan
UNICEF said more than 400 children were killed or injured in Sudan between January and September 2026, with armed drone attacks causing a significant share, according to UN News.
UNICEF said in July that more than 300 children had been killed or injured in the previous six months, Africanews reported.
Hunger adds to the risk. UN figures cited by AP show severe acute malnutrition among children seeking treatment in Nyala rose from 5% to 11% between January and August. AAP reported that the UN estimates about 34 million people in Sudan need assistance.
What is not yet known
Emergency Lawyers has called for an independent investigation into the attack. It was not immediately clear whether any inquiry would be opened, and AP said the casualty figures could not be independently verified.
The strike came after talks in Geneva on Oct. 21 ended without a ceasefire as neither the army nor the RSF attended.
