Nyala market drone strike: Sudan toll disputed from 21 to 102 as MSF reports 36 bodies and 150 wounded
A drone hit a crowded night market in Nyala, South Darfur, on October 26. Counts range from 21 to 102 dead, and aid and rights groups blame the army.
At a glance
- A drone struck the Tanqouj night market, also spelled Tanqong, in Nyala's Doumaya district at about 8 pm on Monday, October 26, 2026.
- Doctors count 21 dead; Doctors Without Borders says the main hospital received 36 bodies and its teams saw more than 150 wounded; a rights group and the RSF-led administration both say 102 died.
- No independent body has verified any figure, and residents say many victims were buried without reaching hospital.
- Doctors Without Borders and Emergency Lawyers say the army carried out the strike. A force fighting alongside the army says it hit an RSF camp.
A drone strike on a crowded night market in Nyala, the capital of Sudan's South Darfur state, has killed at least 21 people and possibly more than 100, with no independent count yet available days after the attack. The strike hit the Tanqouj market, also spelled Tanqong, in the Doumaya district at about 8 pm local time on Monday, October 26, 2026.
Nyala is held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group at war with Sudan's army since April 2023, and independent investigators cannot easily reach it. Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, says a second strike hit a civilian neighbourhood.
Why the death toll ranges so widely
Each figure measures something different, and some come from parties to the war.
| Who is counting | Dead | Wounded | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudan Doctors Network and a Nyala hospital medic | 21 | More than 40 | Preliminary; identities still being verified |
| Doctors Without Borders | 36 bodies | More than 150 seen | Arrivals at Nyala Teaching Hospital only |
| Emergency Lawyers (rights group) | 102 | 113 | Group's own documentation; identical to the figure below |
| Health ministry of the RSF-led Tasis administration | 102 | 113 | Announced by a party to the conflict |
MSF said 21 of the 36 bodies its supported hospital received were in civilian clothing. Hospital counts miss anyone buried elsewhere, and residents and medical staff say many victims never reached a hospital. Because Emergency Lawyers and the Tasis ministry give the same totals, the two may not be separate confirmations.
What witnesses and medics describe
Patients reached the hospital on tuk-tuks and donkey carts, with shrapnel wounds and severe burns, according to MSF. Its project coordinator in Nyala, Dale Koninckx, said staff worked around the clock and were badly shaken.
An eyewitness from Doumaya said the market's casualties included restaurant and shop workers and children who worked as shoe shiners, and that military personnel were among them too. A medical source in the state health ministry said an early count of about 20 dead included seven women and five children.
Who the sides blame
MSF states that the Sudanese Armed Forces carried out the strike. Emergency Lawyers also blames the army and has called for an independent investigation, and the Tasis administration has asked the United Nations and aid groups for urgent protection and medical supplies.
Mohamed Didan, spokesperson for the Special Operations Forces, a unit fighting alongside the army, said an air strike had hit an RSF camp in Doumaya. That account and the civilian accounts have not been independently reconciled.
A month of drones over civilian markets
This was not the first such attack in Nyala this month. On October 16, a drone hit the city's livestock market. The local civil administration reported about 30 deaths, while MSF confirmed at least four people killed, including a child, and eight injured.
The UN Human Rights Office has counted more than 306 deaths from drone strikes in Sudan during the first three weeks of October. The UN has also condemned recent strikes on a market and a residential area in Yala. Sudan this week also accused neighbouring Ethiopia of hosting drone attacks, a claim GlobeHourly reported on Friday.
Open questions after the strike
Still unknown are the final number of dead, how many were civilians and who gave the order. The Sudan Doctors Network says it is still verifying identities under tight security limits. Any independent inquiry would need access to a city controlled by one side of the war, and none has been announced.
