Medical sources and residents said at least 40 people were killed Tuesday when a drone struck a pickup truck carrying mourners traveling between the towns of Abu Zabad and El-Fula in West Kordofan state. The victims were reportedly heading to a funeral when the vehicle was hit on a rural road.

"Most of the victims were women,” a medical worker at Abu Zabad Hospital told reporters, requesting anonymity for security reasons due to ongoing fighting in the region.

Residents said several members of the same extended family were among the dead. Hamad Abdallah, a local resident who attended the burial, said the victims were interred together shortly after the attack. "They were all on their way to the funeral,” he said. "Many from the same family died and were buried in the same place.”

A second drone strike on Wednesday hit a secondary school and nearby health center in Shukeiri village near Kosti in White Nile State, killing at least 17 people, including female students, teachers, and health workers, according to hospital officials and the Sudanese Doctors Network.

Dr. Musa al-Majeri, director of Douiem Hospital, the nearest major medical facility to the village, said at least 10 others were wounded in the attack. Health workers described chaotic scenes as injured students were brought to the hospital by relatives and local volunteers.

In a statement, the Sudanese Doctors Network condemned the strike, calling it "a horrific crime” and accusing the RSF of repeatedly targeting civilian infrastructure in White Nile State in recent days.

The attacks come as fighting intensifies in the Kordofan region, a strategic area linking RSF-controlled territories in Darfur with eastern areas held by the Sudanese Armed Forces. The RSF has been attempting to push eastward after losing control of the capital, Khartoum, earlier in 2025.

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Thursday he was "appalled” by reports that more than 200 civilians had been killed in drone attacks since early March. He warned that the use of explosive weapons in populated areas risks further civilian casualties.

Sudan’s conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. According to the United Nations and the World Food Programme, more than 21 million people now face acute food insecurity, making the crisis one of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies.