At least 13 people were killed and 22 others wounded when Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces struck a courthouse in the army-held town of Umm Rawaba in North Kordofan state on Tuesday afternoon, according to Sudan Tribune.

The drone strike hit the judicial headquarters during peak hours, when the courthouse grounds were crowded with residents completing legal and administrative paperwork, according to Darfur24. An RSF military official reached for comment did not address the strike directly, saying only that Umm Rawaba was hosting a graduation ceremony that day for army-affiliated fighters.

Civilian Target, Local Outrage

The Sudanese Doctors Network condemned the attack, saying the deliberate targeting of civilian objects fails to respect the distinction between military and civilian targets required under international humanitarian law, per Al-Monitor. The North Kordofan state government issued its own statement describing the strike as an attack on civilian and judicial institutions.

"AN ATTACK ON CIVILIAN INSTITUTIONS AND JUDICIAL FACILITIES."

The strike is the latest atrocity in Sudan's more than two-year civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, a conflict the United Nations has repeatedly flagged as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with famine conditions confirmed in parts of the country and millions displaced. North Kordofan, wedged between army- and RSF-controlled territory, has become one of the war's most contested and dangerous fronts in recent months.

What's Next

No group has formally claimed responsibility beyond the RSF official's non-denial, and there is no indication yet of an independent investigation into the strike. Aid groups operating in North Kordofan say access to the wounded remains difficult amid ongoing fighting, and the death toll could still rise as more of the injured are accounted for.