RSF Drone Strike Kills Several in Sudan Hospital

File photo of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (AP)
File photo of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (AP)
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RSF Drone Strike Kills Several in Sudan Hospital

File photo of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (AP)
File photo of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (AP)

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces bombarded El-Obeid on Friday, killing six people in a hospital in the key southern city, medical and army sources said.

"The militia launched a drone strike on the Social Insurance Hospital, killing six and wounding 12, simultaneously attacking residential areas of the city with heavy artillery," an army source told AFP, adding that the bombardment had also hit a second hospital in the city center.

A medical source at El-Obeid Hospital, the city's main facility, confirmed the toll, adding that the Social Insurance Hospital had been forced shut "due to damage" sustained in the drone strike.

El-Obeid, a strategic city 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of Khartoum which is the capital of North Kordofan state, was besieged by the RSF for nearly two years before the regular army broke the siege in February.

It was one of a series of counteroffensives that also saw the army recapture Khartoum, but El-Obeid has continued to come under RSF bombardment.

The city is a key staging post on the army's supply route to the west, where the besieged city of El-Fasher is the only state capital in the vast Darfur region still under its control.

The RSF and the army have clashed repeatedly along the road between El-Obeid and El-Fasher in recent weeks.

On Thursday, the RSF said they retaken the town of Al-Khoei, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of El-Obeid, after the army recaptured it earlier this month.

The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million since it erupted in April 2023.

The United Nation says the conflict has created the world's biggest hunger and displacement crises.

It has also effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the centre, east and north, while the RSF forces and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.

Since losing Khartoum in March, the RSF has adopted a two-prong strategy: long-range drone strikes on army-held cities accompanied by a counteroffensive in the south.

On Thursday, the RSF also announced they had recaptured Dibeibat, in South Kordofan state some 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of El-Obeid, another town that the army had retaken earlier this month.

Swathes of South Kordofan are controlled by a rebel group allied with the RSF, Abdelaziz al-Hilu's faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North.



Violence in Southern Syria Fueled by Tribal, Sectarian Tensions

A military training course for reconciliation factions within the Eighth Brigade, backed by Hmeimim, in Busra al-Sham, eastern Daraa (Archive – Ahrar Houran Gathering). 
A military training course for reconciliation factions within the Eighth Brigade, backed by Hmeimim, in Busra al-Sham, eastern Daraa (Archive – Ahrar Houran Gathering). 
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Violence in Southern Syria Fueled by Tribal, Sectarian Tensions

A military training course for reconciliation factions within the Eighth Brigade, backed by Hmeimim, in Busra al-Sham, eastern Daraa (Archive – Ahrar Houran Gathering). 
A military training course for reconciliation factions within the Eighth Brigade, backed by Hmeimim, in Busra al-Sham, eastern Daraa (Archive – Ahrar Houran Gathering). 

Amid escalating lawlessness and revenge killings in Syria’s Daraa province, the Internal Security Forces leadership has dismissed at least 200 personnel for committing “behavioral violations and transgressions inconsistent with the institution’s values and principles.”

In an official statement, authorities announced the launch of a comprehensive reform plan aimed at training staff and improving professionalism, pledging zero tolerance for misconduct that damages the security agency’s reputation or exceeds legal authority.

These measures follow growing unrest in Daraa and Suwayda, sparked by clashes at a checkpoint in Al-Masmiyah, north of Daraa, along the Damascus–Suwayda highway. Checkpoint personnel were accused of abuse, extortion, and arbitrary fees imposed on passing vehicles.

According to residents, many of the checkpoint guards are former members of the Eighth Brigade - once overseen by Russia and Military Intelligence - and have continued practices reminiscent of the old regime, including intimidation and extortion. After the government’s collapse, they were incorporated into the new security forces through tribal and family connections to avoid accountability for past crimes.

Locals say these abuses are often driven by tribal and sectarian rivalries, further eroding trust in the security apparatus.

On Tuesday, reinforcements from Damascus attempted to take control of the Al-Masmiyah checkpoint but were met with armed resistance, prompting authorities to close the highway to protect civilians. In Al-Sanamayn, security forces deployed to six locations after a surge in killings.

One grieving mother recorded a video plea to Syrian President Ahmada al-Sharaa, demanding justice for her son, who was shot dead while praying. She revealed that two of his brothers and their father had also been killed.

The Violations Documentation Office of the Ahrar Houran Gathering reported 17 assassinations by unknown gunmen in Al-Sanamayn since the regime’s fall. Meanwhile, Daraa 24 Network documented 38 killings in June alone - double the toll in May - including 23 civilians, with violence ranging from shootings to disputes and accidents involving weapons misuse.

According to Ahrar Houran, many of the killings are carried out by armed groups exploiting tribal conflicts once fueled by the previous regime, alongside frequent kidnappings, robberies, and sporadic abuses by security personnel.

The Internal Security leadership pledged to continue reforms, enforce discipline, and improve training to restore public trust, emphasizing that professionalism and respect for the law remain top priorities in rebuilding the security institution.