Blue Nile: Displacement from Damazin and Roseires, and Abu Shandi death toll rises to 32

Blue Nile – October 11, 2026 – Radio Dabanga. A military source revealed to Radio Dabanga that the situation in Damazin is currently calm following the deployment of the reserve battalion, while simultaneously noting an increase in displacement from Damazin and Roseires towards Sennar, Medani, and Khartoum. The source indicated that fighting continues between the Armed Forces on one side, and the Rapid Support Forces and the SPLM-N led by Al-Hilu on the other, in the Um Darfa area (City 7) in Wad Al-Mahi locality. The source further noted that most areas in Al-Kadalu remain under the control of the Rapid Support Forces and the SPLM-N. Rising Abu Shandi death toll. For his part, Mahjoub Al-Sheikh, Commissioner of Wad Al-Mahi locality in the region, stated that the drone attack on the Abu Shandi shelter center—where displaced people from Geissan state gathered on Thursday—is a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and a war crime." In a press conference held on Sunday, he confirmed that the attack resulted in the immediate death of 26 women and 4 children, while two elderly individuals later died from their wounds. The number of injured reached 43; 34 were transported to Damazin, and 18 of them remain in the hospital. He pointed to the targeting and destruction of the main water source in City 6, which exacerbated the suffering of the residents, and noted the displacement of nearly 8,000 people from the Al-Kadalu administrative unit to Al-Azaza and Roseires on foot. The Rapid Support Forces and the SPLM-N had announced their control over the area. The Commissioner called on the international community to take immediate action and conduct an independent and transparent investigation to identify and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable. He also demanded an investigation into any external support or bases that may have contributed to enabling the perpetrators to commit these assaults. UN Condemnation. For her part, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami (acting as Denise Brown), expressed her horror at reports of a drone airstrike near a displacement site in Wad Al-Mahi, Blue Nile State. This area is under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces and was subjected to an attack last week. She noted that those at the site had been displaced due to recent hostilities from the Geissan and Kurmuk areas. In a statement seen by Radio Dabanga, she condemned the senseless killings, stressing the need to hold those responsible for this blatant disregard for international humanitarian law accountable. She stated that international humanitarian law is a set of binding rules that, when applied, protects civilians as well as humanitarian and medical workers serving them, calling for the accountability of those who ignore it. For its part, UNICEF condemned the drone attack on the Abu Shandi area, which, according to its statement, led to the killing of 5 children (two girls and three boys under the age of ten) who were accompanying their mothers. Denial. On the other hand, the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tas-ees) denied responsibility for the incident and added in a statement: "The combat drone that targeted citizens in the Abu Shandi area is a war drone belonging to the State of Egypt, and it was launched from the Wad Al-Mahi city police station—the seat of the locality—by technicians of Egyptian nationality." They pointed to the observed movements of a person they described as a militia member named Mek Zaidan, who works for the Armed Forces, riding in a military vehicle at the moment the war drone was flying towards the traditional mining field where the displaced people were working in Abu Shandi, before he withdrew after confirming that the drone had identified the target and that the operation had been successfully completed.