The Darfur Victims Advocacy Organization has released a new documentation report detailing a deadly drone strike that targeted civilians in Al-Sunout locality, West Kordofan State, on 16 February 2026. According to the organization, the attack hit a displacement shelter and resulted in the killing and injury of dozens of unarmed civilians, including women and children, raising serious concerns over violations of international humanitarian law and the growing pattern of drone attacks against civilian populations in conflict-affected areas of Sudan.
The organization is closely monitoring the pattern of drone attacks that have increasingly targeted civilian gatherings across various parts of Sudan, and the subsequent grave loss of life and horrific injuries among families, including women and children, in flagrant violation of the humanitarian and legal norms governing the conduct of armed conflicts. In this context, the organization documented a targeting incident that occurred on the morning of Monday, 16 February 2026, in Al-Sunut Locality, West Kordofan State, resulting from an aerial strike carried out by a drone belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces. According to consistent field testimonies, the strike resulted in a large number of casualties among unarmed civilians, both dead and wounded.
The organization conducted interviews with several eyewitnesses and relatives of the victims in Al-Sunut, who reported that a drone targeted the Veterinary Displacement Shelter Center in Al-Sunut at approximately 12:00 AM on Monday, 16 February 2026. The incident was described as exceptionally brutal in terms of the nature of the strike and the density of its human impact. Testimonies indicate that the attack killed a large number of civilians, including women and children, and that some families suffered total or near-total loss as a result of the direct targeting.
The organization has obtained a preliminary list of victims, as follows:
First: Fatalities (Preliminary List)
Men:
1. Balah Mohammed Hamida – 35 years old
2. Ali Abdulaziz Fadl Mohammed
3. Abdullah Musa Abdullah Mohammed Zain
4. Abdul-Samie Al-Ma’moun Ahmed Al-Ma’moun – 32 years old
5. Hassan Hussein Ibrahim Azraq – 18 years old
6. Maaz Muhadani Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 17 years old
Women:
7. Kalthoum Mohammed Rahma Muhadani – 40 years old
8. Habsa Ali Al-Sayer – 37 years old
9. Habiba Al-Sammani Ibrahim Azraq – 33 years old
10. Bakhita Al-Sammani Ibrahim Azraq – 45 years old
11. Somaya Hussein Ibrahim Azraq – 32 years old
Children:
12. Shiraz Jibril Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 6 years old
13. Abeer Abdulhamid Muhadani Ibrahim – 13 years old
14. Yaqeen Abu Al-Hassan Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 12 years old
15. Fuad Jibril Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 12 years old
16. Ali Abu Al-Hassan Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 7 years old
17. Hussein Jibril Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 9 years old
18. Mohammedani Mohammed Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 12 years old
19. Aisha Abu Al-Hassan Al-Sammani Ibrahim – 3 years old
20. Safaa Salah Jad Al-Karim Mahmoud – 7 years old
21. Marwa Salah Jad Al-Karim Mahmoud – 5 years old
22. Amani Salah Jad Al-Karim Mahmoud – 3 years old
23. Mohammed Khalid Hussein Ibrahim – 3 years old
24. Al-Hasna Azraq Al-Hasna Mohammed – 5 years old
25. Ali Saleh Abdul-Fadil Idris – 3 years old
26. Idris Saleh Abdul-Fadil Idris – 5 years old
Second: Injured (Preliminary List)
27. Al-Fateh Muhadani Ibrahim Azraq
28. Shahd Jibril Al-Sammani Ibrahim
29. Khesal Ibrahim Al-Sammani Ibrahim
30. Hiyam Azraq Al-Hasna Mohammed
31. Aya Azraq Al-Hasna Mohammed
32. Abdulrahman Salah Jad Al-Karim Mahmoud
33. Wael Khalid Hussein Ibrahim
34. Fatouma Ahmed Muqaddam
35. Suleiman Walid Suleiman Arouq
36. Ibrahim Jibril Al-Sammani Ibrahim
37. Ibrahim Al-Sammani Ibrahim Azraq Adam
38. Saleh Abdul-Fadil Idris Ahmed
39. Osman Saleh Abdul-Fadil Idris
40. Al-Touma Azraq Adam
This incident falls within the context of a non-international armed conflict, thereby rendering the rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) applicable and binding upon all parties to the conflict without exception. These rules, as peremptory norms, prohibit the targeting of civilians or civilian objects and impose strict adherence to the principle of distinction between combatants and non-combatants, as well as the principle of proportionality, which prohibits launching attacks expected to cause excessive civilian harm in relation to any anticipated military advantage.
The targeting of a civilian gathering and the resulting high number of casualties, including women and children, raises serious suspicions regarding the occurrence of an indiscriminate or disproportionate attack, which constitutes a grave violation of Customary International Humanitarian Law. The large number of child victims further reflects a clear breach of the obligation to afford special protection to vulnerable groups during armed conflicts.
At the domestic level, these acts—if established—constitute crimes punishable under criminal law, including unlawful killing, infliction of grievous harm, and criminal destruction of property, in addition to individual criminal responsibility for all those who executed, ordered, or failed to take necessary precautions to protect civilians.
The organization considers the Al-Sunut incident a grave indicator of an escalating pattern of civilian targeting through drone warfare, a pattern that deepens the suffering of vulnerable communities, expands the climate of collective fear, and undermines the foundations of humanitarian protection, particularly in displacement-affected areas.
In light of its human rights mandate, the organization recommends the following:
1. The opening of an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the incident, publication of its findings, and accountability for those responsible in accordance with national and international legal standards.
2. The immediate cessation of all attacks affecting civilians and strict compliance with International Humanitarian Law, particularly the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.
3. Ensuring urgent medical care for the injured and comprehensive humanitarian support for affected families, including shelter, food, treatment, and psychosocial assistance.
4. Guaranteeing victims’ families their right to justice, reparation, and fair compensation.
5. Calling upon relevant regional and international mechanisms mandated to protect civilians to monitor the incident and take practical steps to prevent the recurrence of civilian targeting in conflict and displacement zones.
