Dozens of people were killed in a devastating escalation of Sudan’s ongoing civil war this week, as rival military factions unleashed drone strikes and aerial assaults across the country’s oil-rich and civilian-populated regions. The violence, which has gripped Sudan since April 2023, intensified dramatically in early December 2025, leaving families shattered, communities fleeing, and international observers alarmed by the mounting civilian toll.
According to The Associated Press, the deadliest incident unfolded on December 9, 2025, near Sudan’s largest oil processing facility in Heglig. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched a drone attack using a Turkish-made Akinci drone, targeting the site just one day after losing control of it to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Local news outlets reported that seven tribal leaders and dozens of RSF troopers perished, while the government of South Sudan’s Unity State confirmed the deaths of three South Sudanese soldiers. The RSF, which has been locked in a bitter fight with the Sudanese military for nearly three years, condemned the attack as a violation of international law.
One South Sudanese soldier, who witnessed the aftermath and spoke on condition of anonymity, estimated the death toll to be around 25, though both sides told The Associated Press that the exact number of dead and wounded remained uncertain amid the chaos. The strike came on the heels of the RSF’s swift capture of Heglig, a vital state asset near the border with South Sudan, following the evacuation of Sudanese soldiers and oil workers. By Tuesday, approximately 3,900 Sudanese soldiers had surrendered their weapons to South Sudanese forces after crossing into Rubkona County, as confirmed by Unity State’s information ministry. Video footage from South Sudan’s state broadcaster depicted tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery among the surrendered equipment.
The Heglig incident was not the only tragedy to strike Sudan’s war-torn landscape this week. On December 5, 2025, a drone attack by the RSF hit a kindergarten in Kalogi, South Kordofan state, killing 50 people—including 33 children—according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network, as reported by CNN. The horror did not end there. Paramedics treating survivors at the scene were themselves targeted in a second unexpected attack the following day, and a third civilian site near the previous two locations was also struck. Communication blackouts in the region have made it difficult to verify the full extent of casualties, but the Sudan Doctors’ Network and Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking violence against civilians, have condemned the attacks as flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.
“Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children’s rights,” said UNICEF Representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett in a statement Friday, as quoted by CNN. “Children should never pay the price of conflict.” Yett urged all parties “to stop these attacks immediately and allow safe, unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to reach those in desperate need.”
The violence in Kordofan did not abate. On December 7, 2025, Sudanese military aerial strikes killed at least 48 people, mostly civilians, in Kauda, South Kordofan. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned that the Kordofan region could face atrocities on the scale of those recently witnessed in el-Fasher, where RSF forces seized the city in October 2025. The takeover of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the region, was marked by reports of executions, rapes, sexual assaults, and other atrocities. Thousands managed to escape, but thousands more are feared killed or trapped in the besieged city.
The fighting, which began in April 2023 as a struggle for power between the SAF and the RSF, has steadily engulfed more of Sudan’s territory and population. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 40,000 people have been killed, with 12 million displaced—a figure aid groups say could be much higher. The Associated Press puts the death toll at 150,000, with millions more forced to flee their homes and multiple famines triggered by the relentless violence.
South Sudan, which relies entirely on Sudanese pipelines to export its oil, has seen its own economic crisis worsen as conflict repeatedly disrupts production. Despite accusations of siding with the RSF, South Sudan insists it remains neutral in the conflict. Nonetheless, the country has been drawn deeper into the turmoil, as evidenced by the deaths of its soldiers in Heglig and the influx of thousands of Sudanese civilians crossing the border since December 7, 2025. South Sudanese commander Johnson Olony acknowledged in a statement that South Sudanese forces may have been sent to secure Heglig after its capture, but the military’s official spokesperson declined to comment.
The capture of Heglig represents the latest in a string of RSF territorial gains. Analysts cited by The Associated Press suggest that control of such a vital state asset could become a significant bargaining chip for the RSF in any future negotiations. However, the opaque nature of oil finances in the region makes it difficult to determine how much the SAF, RSF, or South Sudan will be impacted economically in the short term.
Elsewhere, the RSF accused the Sudanese military of carrying out another drone strike on the Chad-Sudan border, posting video evidence of billowing black smoke. The claim could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from the Sudanese military. The pattern of attacks—targeting not just military or strategic assets, but also civilians, children, and medical personnel—has drawn widespread condemnation from international organizations and human rights groups.
“A flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, especially children, and vital civilian infrastructure,” Emergency Lawyers stated, as reported by CNN. The group’s outrage was echoed by UNICEF and the United Nations, who have repeatedly called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in desperate need.
As fighting shifts from Darfur to the oil-rich Kordofan states, the outlook for Sudan’s civilians grows ever bleaker. Hundreds have been killed throughout Kordofan in recent weeks, with intensified fighting following the RSF’s takeover of el-Fasher. The United Nations and aid organizations warn that the true scale of the humanitarian disaster remains obscured by communication blackouts, restricted access, and the sheer scale of displacement. Thousands of civilians continue to flee, seeking refuge in neighboring South Sudan and beyond, while those left behind face the daily threat of violence, hunger, and disease.
In a conflict marked by shifting front lines, shattered alliances, and ever-mounting atrocities, the events of December 2025 stand as a grim reminder of the war’s human cost. With both sides accused of grave violations and international pleas for peace going unheeded, Sudan’s future hangs in the balance—its people caught between rival armies, elusive justice, and the hope that, someday, the violence will end.
