RSF-aligned group alleges SAF drone strike killed 16 civilians in El Odaiya, West Kordofan
What happened
The RSF-aligned Sudan Founding Alliance, known as Tasees, has accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of carrying out airstrikes in West Kordofan that it says killed 21 civilians. According to the reporting, 16 civilians, including two women, were killed in a drone strike on El Odaiya on Tuesday evening, with the alliance identifying the aircraft as Turkish-made. A separate strike on Abu Zabad is alleged to have killed five people, including a child. The claims come from a single party to the conflict and have not been independently verified. The event is dated 21 October 2026 in the feed, and the report was published by Radio Dabanga.
Context and assessment
West Kordofan sits in the western part of Sudan's Kordofan region, a corridor that has become a contested frontline between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces since the wider war broke out in April 2023. Control of towns along the road and rail links to Darfur and the south has shifted repeatedly, and both sides have used long-range drones and airstrikes against positions and population centres in the area. The Bayraktar Akıncı, a Turkish-built medium-altitude drone, is one of the platforms the SAF has been widely reported to operate, which makes the aircraft attribution plausible in general terms, though it is not confirmed here. No related events were logged in the feed, so this report cannot be placed against a documented sequence of strikes in El Odaiya. If the allegations were accurate, they would suggest continued use of air power against towns that the RSF or its allies are believed to hold or contest, rather than only against military targets. Such patterns would matter for civilian protection and for any future verification effort.
Sources and confidence
The event rests on one channel, Radio Dabanga, which is reporting a statement from the RSF-aligned Tasees alliance. No independent outlet, UN body, or local monitor in the feed has corroborated the casualty figures, the aircraft type, or the attribution to the SAF. The confidence score of 5.4 out of 10 reflects a single-source claim from a party with a clear interest in the allegation, offset by a specific location and a named platform. Confidence would rise with independent confirmation from local health sources, satellite imagery of impact sites, or statements from the SAF or from humanitarian agencies. It would fall if the casualty count changed materially or if the strike were attributed to another actor.
Location
The coordinates are placed at settlement level for El Odaiya, West Kordofan, which the feed rates as high confidence. The point is an approximation of the town centre rather than a specific building or site. El Odaiya lies in the Kordofan region of central-western Sudan, an area of semi-arid savannah with seasonal wadis, scattered settlements and limited road access. The surrounding landscape is largely open, which affects both the visibility of drone activity and the ability of outside observers to reach impact sites quickly.
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