(MENAFN) The Sudanese government has accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out a lethal drone attack on a central prison in El Obeid, North Kordofan State, on Saturday. According to a government statement, the strike resulted in the deaths of 20 inmates, all identified as civilians, and left 50 others injured.  

Government spokesperson Khalid Ali Aleisir condemned the incident as a "terrorist act" and "a full-fledged war crime that adds to the militia's long record of violations against Sudanese civilians." Aleisir further stated that the RSF also conducted a drone strike on El-Obeid Hospital on Saturday morning.

Earlier, a medical source at El-Obeid Hospital, speaking anonymously to a news outlet, reported receiving 19 bodies and treating 45 individuals injured in the prison attack, noting that "the number of casualties is expected to rise."  

An eyewitness near the prison corroborated the account, telling the news outlet that "three drones launched around five missiles at the prison, with about three of them directly striking the building and the inmates' living quarters." 

Recent weeks have seen an escalation in RSF drone attacks targeting military locations and critical infrastructure in areas under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), including El Obeid.  

Sudan has been gripped by a brutal conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023. This ongoing violence has caused immense suffering, with tens of thousands of deaths and over 15 million people displaced, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration. The true death toll remains unconfirmed.  

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