Civilians in Darfur and Kordofan are still not safe in the places they rely on to survive. Markets, camps and trade routes keep becoming sites of armed violence. Today, DNHR received reports that a hand grenade exploded at Dalij Market, Central Darfur. The blast killed the man carrying it, whom witnesses described as affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces, and seriously injured a civilian, who was taken to Zalingei Hospital. Witnesses also said he had been seen carrying the grenade through the area for several days. Whether the authorities were informed, and what they did, has not been verified. The incident follows others DNHR documented in September. In Kalma Camp, gunfire during unrest killed a woman who was struck by a stray bullet. At Al-Naam border market, clashes left dozens dead or wounded and cut off a key supply route. The causes differ, but the common factor is armed individuals and groups operating among civilians, with no effective control and no accountability. Parties that control territory are responsible for the conduct and weapons of their forces and for keeping civilians safe from them. The right to life and to security does not stop at a market gate or a camp boundary. DNHR calls for: 📌Medical care and monitoring for the injured civilian. 📌An independent and transparent investigation, including into whether the danger was reported and ignored. 📌Measures to keep weapons and explosives out of markets, camps and other civilian spaces. 📌Protection for witnesses and affected families, with their consent and confidentiality respected. Related reading: dnhr.org/2026/09/17/al-naam-… #KeepEyesOnSudan #CentralDarfur #Dalij #CivilianProtection #HumanRights #Accountability

More than 100 refugee families from Sudan arrived at Wedweil Refugee Settlement, in Aweil, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, South Sudan, on Sunday 25 October, crossing via Al-Naam. They were accompanied on arrival by UNHCR and the Commission for Refugee Affairs (CRA), which represents the South Sudanese government. The families had fled different areas of Kordofan after the recent attacks, including in Abu Zabad. Many had sheltered in Al-Naam until the latest drone strikes, and some lost family members in the aerial bombardment. They described the hardship of the journey to South Sudan, where they came looking for safety and peace and a way to live, after the war took everything they once owned. People who flee war have the right to seek safety and to receive protection and basic assistance when they reach it. Arriving with nothing, and facing hunger and disease, is a failure to meet that right. DNHR calls for urgent humanitarian intervention to protect the new arrivals from hunger and disease, and to provide the essentials they need to live, including food, health care, and shelter. #KeepEyesOnSudan #WedweilCamp #SouthSudan #RefugeeRights #Kordofan #HumanitarianAid #HumanRights

The right to food does not end when refugees cross a border. As humanitarian assistance shrinks, refugee families need ways to feed themselves with dignity. On 21 October, DNHR’s South Sudan Branch Office hosted a group of refugee-led organisations at its office. They included Judhoor Al-Nahda for Agricultural Development, Ri’ayat Al-Umam for Renaissance, and the Refugees for Redevelopment Organisation, all working under the UNHCR umbrella on home gardening and household wells programmes. The programmes aim to strengthen the farming cycle, build the capacity of farmers, and support refugee communities to rely on their own work and skills. #KeepEyesOnSudan #SouthSudan #RefugeeRights #FoodSecurity #SelfReliance #HumanRights

During a UNHCR-led assessment in Aweil, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, our team sat with refugee children aged 11 to 14 at Wedweil Camp. The assessment brought together local and refugee-led organisations working in the area and covered several communities, including the Wedweil settlement and Aweil town. The children described problems in two areas: •Education: The school curriculum does not match the one they followed in Sudan, which disrupts their learning. •Protection: Children are being forced to work in the market to support their families, and some are being used in work that is unsuitable for their age. They also reported abduction cases involving children in the camp, which they attributed to organised groups. Every child has the right to education and to protection from exploitation, forced labour, and abduction. When families are short of food and income, children carry the cost. DNHR urges UNHCR, child protection actors, and the authorities concerned to address these gaps, including by looking into the abduction reports and aligning the curriculum so children can continue their schooling. #KeepEyesOnSudan #WedweilCamp #ChildProtection #RefugeeRights #RightToEducation #HumanRights

On 14 October, Othman Abdullah Muhammad Ali, a 26-year-old student, was assaulted by members of the Rapid Support Forces at Hawa Market in Nyala, South Darfur. He was beaten at a tea shop and then taken to an unknown location. Days after his abduction, his body was found mutilated and left in the open. Taking a civilian to an unknown location is an enforced disappearance. Killing and mutilating him afterward violates the right to life and the absolute prohibition of torture and degrading treatment. It also fits a pattern DNHR has documented across Darfur, where civilians are seized without any legal basis and those responsible face no consequences. DNHR extends its condolences to Othman’s family and calls for an independent and impartial investigation, the prosecution of those responsible, and an end to arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings in Nyala. #KeepEyesOnSudan #Nyala #SouthDarfur #EnforcedDisappearance #Accountability #HumanRights

Four testimonies from North Kutum, North Darfur, show what displacement looks like for civilians who have been left without support. One woman said: “We fetch water daily after walking 3 to 4 hours, from wells more than 30 meters deep using a bucket. This is our life after being displaced from our original areas.” Water points are crowded and muddy, and shared with livestock. Food is out of reach, with a piece of bread costing 9,000 SDG and a pound of dried okra 20,000 SDG. Residents say their children and older people are sick, but there is no hospital and no medicine. Many families are living in open areas under trees, in makeshift shelters. This follows fighting and violations in El Fasher, Kutum, Mellit, Sayah, and Umm Baru, which have forced families into destitution, far from security, health care, food, and water. The rights to water, food, health, and adequate shelter are not optional in displacement. When civilians go without all four, it is a protection failure. DNHR calls on humanitarian organisations and relevant authorities to urgently assess needs in North Kutum, expand safe water access, and ensure displaced families can reach food and health services. #KeepEyesOnSudan #NorthDarfur #Kutum #VictimsVoices #RightToWater #HumanRights

In Sudan’s ongoing conflict, sexual violence against women and girls has gone beyond individual crimes. It is used as a tactic of war to instill fear, force displacement, and break down communities. Survivors face fragile accountability mechanisms and restricted humanitarian access, and many are left without justice or adequate support. DNHR Executive Director Mohammed Adam Hassan will join the expert panel at the American Bar Association’s free webinar, “Sudan, War on Women and Girls: Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War in the 2023 to Present Conflict,” on 6 November at 12 PM EST (5 PM GMT). Hosted by the ABA International Law Section and International Criminal Law Committee, the session will cover: The origins of the SAF-RSF conflict and why civilians became targets How sexual violence is used as a weapon of war, and its impact on women, girls, families, and communities Pathways to accountability for alleged perpetrators within the rule of law Register here: americanbar.org/events-cle/m… #KeepEyesOnSudan #Sudan #SexualViolenceInConflict #Accountability #WomenAndGirls #HumanRights

#Today marks 40 years since the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights entered into force. DNHR calls on the African Union to turn human rights commitments into civilian protection, humanitarian access, justice and accountability in Sudan and Darfur. #AfricanCharter #Sudan #Darfur

#Update from Abyei Protesters marched in Abyei on 20 October to condemn the reported drone strike on Amieth Market that killed and injured civilians. Organizers delivered a memorandum to UNISFA calling for civilian protection and an end to attacks on markets. #Abyei #Sudan

A drone attributed to the RSF struck the Tendelti electrical substation in White Nile State on Tuesday morning. Attacks on power infrastructure put civilians at risk far beyond the strike site. When electricity fails, water pumping, hospitals, and communications fail with it. The UN Fact-Finding Mission documented exactly this pattern in El Obeid. DNHR is monitoring and working to confirm further details. We call for an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure. #KeepEyesOnSudan #WhiteNile #Tendelti

Update from #Tigray, Ethiopia HRDs in #Tigray, Ethiopia, told DNHR this morning about civilian killings, movement restrictions, and blocked access to bank accounts and money transfers, leaving civilians struggling to buy essentials. #HRDs urgently need protection. These reports remain unverified.

A drone attack reportedly struck the grilling and restaurant area of Mawash Market in Nyala, South Darfur, on October 16, 2026, killing and injuring civilians. Women selling tea and working in restaurants were reportedly among the casualties. Preliminary accounts suggest dozens of people were killed or injured. Casualty figures and victims’ identities have not been independently verified. Accounts received attribute the attack to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), but this attribution remains unverified. The available information does not establish whether civilians were deliberately targeted. DNHR calls for urgent medical assistance for the injured, unhindered humanitarian access, and the protection of civilians and markets. An independent and transparent investigation is needed to establish responsibility, with evidence preserved to support accountability and justice for victims and their families. #Sudan #SouthDarfur #Nyala #ProtectCivilians #KeepEyesOnSudan

#Update from South Darfur Reported Civilian Casualties Following a Drone Attack on Nyala’s Mawash Market | Nyala, South Darfur State Preliminary information indicates that a drone attack struck the grilling and restaurant area of Nyala’s Mawash Market on Friday, 16 October 2026, reportedly killing and injuring civilians, including women selling tea and women working in restaurants. Initial reports suggest dozens of casualties. However, the number of people killed and injured, as well as their identities, has not been independently verified. Accounts received attribute the attack to a drone operated by the Sudanese Armed Forces. This attribution remains subject to independent verification through witness testimony, visual material and other evidence. The information currently available does not establish the motive for the attack or whether civilians were deliberately targeted. Reports that women tea vendors and restaurant workers were among the casualties raise grave concerns about the safety of women who rely on daily earnings to support their families. The attack also raises concerns about its impact on livelihoods and access to food in the city. The Darfur Network for Human Rights (DNHR) calls for urgent medical assistance for the injured, unhindered access to medical and humanitarian services, and the protection of civilians, markets, and Mawash. DNHR also calls for an independent and transparent investigation to establish the circumstances of the attack and identify those responsible. Evidence must be preserved to support accountability and justice for victims and their families.

#North Kordofan: SAF and Joint Forces advance as UAV strikes threaten El Obeid: #Key findings The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and SAF-aligned Joint Forces gained ground in North Kordofan in September and early October. Meanwhile, strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, continued to hit civilian populations and infrastructure in the city of El Obeid, which shelters a rapidly growing displaced population. SAF and aligned forces made advancements in North Kordofan in September and early October. From 6 September to 2 October 2026, the SAF and Joint Forces reportedly gained control of Hamrat Al-Wiz, Al Kukeiti, Sawdiri, and Al-Mazroub. Al-Mazroub was one of the last major RSF-held areas in North Kordofan. UAV strikes on El Obeid continued in September, killing civilians and destroying educational infrastructure. On 9 September, a strike that CIR assessed with high confidence was perpetrated by the RSF on the College of Developmental and Technological Sciences reportedly killed a security guard and severely damaged the library and labs. A second strike on 28 September on Sheikan College and the Sports City reportedly killed a child and injured 12 others. The displaced population in El Obeid is growing. The Unified IDP camp gained over 1,200 tents between 4 August and 4 October. Each new arrival adds to the number of vulnerable civilians sheltering in the city as UAV attacks continue. Sexual violence is being reported at scale. Displaced women in El Obeid have reported RSF fighters perpetrating sexual violence against them. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa Network (SIHA) reported documenting more than 71 cases of sexual violence across the wider Kordofan region in a single week at times. info-res.org/sudan-witness/a…