Sudan Nashra: Blue Nile’s Kurmuk falls to RSF | Around 100 civilians killed in drone attacks attributed to military in Darfur | 5 killed in Central Darfur by Chadian forces, eyewitnesses say | Repercussions of war on Iran a ‘crisis multiplier’ for Sudan’s medicine supply, acute drug scarcity on the horizon, sources say

Subscribe to our Lens on Sudan newsletter here . As Sudan’s two rival commanders delivered recorded Eid al-Fitr greetings to the public, their troops and drones pressed on, exacting a deadly toll on civilians over the holiday. In southeastern Blue Nile State, the Rapid Support Forces, alongside its ally the Sudan Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, advanced in the thousands from Ethiopian territory toward the strategic city of Kurmuk, a military source told Mada Masr. The push unfolded over several days under heavy drone cover, with the forces capturing a series of towns before taking Kurmuk by Tuesday. The fall of the city — located along key cross-border supply routes — could alter the balance of power in the state, according to an activist from the area, while placing the state capital Damazin and key power and irrigation infrastructure at risk. Continued RSF mobilization within Ethiopian territory could lead to the development of multi-front battles across the state’s localities in the coming period, the activist said. To Sudan’s west, nearly 100 people were killed in East Darfur and North Darfur during the first two days of Eid in drone attacks the RSF, Sudanese media outlets and Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab attributed to the military. In Daein, East Darfur’s largest hospital was hit on Friday night, killing at least 64 patients and medical staff and injuring dozens others, and forcing the facility out of service. The violence continued the next day, when a drone strike targeted a passenger vehicle in eastern Daein, killing 23 people en route to West Kordofan. Simultaneously, North Darfur’s Fasher, which is under RSF control, came under successive air raids throughout Friday and Saturday, with drone strikes hitting neighborhoods and markets alongside military sites, killing and injuring civilians. Explosions were heard both inside and outside the city, three residents told Mada Masr. The week’s violence against civilians did not come solely from Sudan’s warring sides. In Um Dukhun, along the Chadian border, troops from across the border opened fire on Friday in what residents described as an unprecedented attack, killing five civilians and injuring 14 others. While a Chadian military source said their forces were targeting smugglers, five eyewitnesses described a gathering of extended families from both the Sudanese and Chadian sides of Um Dukhun, assembled on the Sudanese side in a long-standing Eid tradition. One witness said Chadian troops had been patrolling the border and observing the crowd before the shooting began. *** Blue Nile’s Kurmuk falls to RSF RSF and SPLM-N forces advance into villages around the strategic town of Kurmuk in Blue Nile State, March 23. Courtesy: @AfriMEOSINT on X The RSF and their ally SPLM-N (Hilu) secured full control of Kurmuk on Tuesday, capturing the strategic city near the Ethiopian border in southeastern Blue Nile State as well as several surrounding towns. The operation, a military source told Mada Masr, began days earlier. On Sunday, around 3,000 fighters moved out from the cities of Asosa and Dul in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, approximately 23 and 11 kilometers away from the Sudan-Ethiopia border respectively, pushing toward Kurmuk. The forces engaged military defenses along the way in Jart, Khor al-Bodi and Blamo, around 20 kilometers south of Kurmuk. Heavy drone strikes on Sudanese military positions accompanied the advance, forcing the military to fall back into Kurmuk, the source said. By Tuesday, the allies captured the city. The takeover follows weeks of escalating military operations in the area. In February, SPLM-N fighters moved in from border areas and attacked Dim Mansour and nearby villages, an advance a military source at the time described as a precursor to a larger offensive targeting Kurmuk. Earlier this month, RSF-SPLM-N drone strikes displaced around 2,000 of Kurmuk’s population. Three residents told Mada Masr they had observed significant troop movements by the allies ahead of the attacks, while a senior federal official warned at the time that pushing people out was intended to leave a security vacuum that would be exploited. In a series of statements, SPLM-N (Hilu) said it achieved major advances across multiple fronts in Blue Nile, taking control of Kurmuk, Baraka, Keili and Khor al-Bodi and killing hundreds among military forces, including senior officers. An RSF field source speaking to Mada Masr confirmed the deaths of several military officers and soldiers and the capture of three tanks, multiple combat vehicles and weapons depots. An activist from the area warned that the fall of Kurmuk could alter the military balance in Blue Nile and pose a direct threat to Damazin, the state capital. The activist noted that Kurmuk’s dirt airstrip could serve as a drone launch site, while its road networks, bridges and cross-border connections with Ethiopia enhance its logistical importance for the battles ahead. Situated around 136 kilometers from Damazin, Kurmuk lies on key trade and migration routes linking Sudan to the Horn of Africa. A government official described it as a “geographic and security pivot point,” where control can translate into dominance over border corridors and supply lines. The city also forms part of the defensive buffer protecting key infrastructure, including the Roseires Dam, which supplies electricity to large parts of Sudan and supports irrigation for major agricultural schemes. Following their withdrawal, military forces regrouped in the Sali area south of Damazin, according to the activist. The air force carried out heavy strikes on RSF and SPLM-N positions in and around Kurmuk following the capture, they said. The activist also pointed to new RSF mobilization across the border in Ethiopia opposite Blue Nile’s Qeisan, warning of potential parallel clashes in Tadamon locality to the west, where forces affiliated with RSF commander Hamouda al-Bishi and SPLM-N deputy leader Joseph Tuka are already present. *** Around 100 civilians killed in drone attacks attributed to the military in Darfur Aftermath of drone strikes on Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, March 20.  Courtesy: @Nadeen358720 on X Over the course of two days, a wave of drone strikes across RSF-controlled areas in Darfur killed nearly 100 civilians. The deadliest incident occurred on Friday, when a drone strike targeted the Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, killing at least 64 people, according to the World Health Organization. Among the victims were 13 children, two nurses, a doctor and several patients, while 89 others were injured. The strike severely damaged key departments, including pediatrics, maternity and emergency care, forcing the state’s largest hospital out of service. While the military denied responsibility, Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab assessed that it was likely behind the attack. In a report released Tuesday, the lab argued that Daein’s status as “ both a base of RSF control and a part of the traditional area of the Riziegat communities, a group that comprises a significant percentage of the make-up of the RSF,” made it a probable target. The report also indicated that the hospital was struck multiple times, citing East Darfur’s health authorities who said two successive drone strikes hit the facility within a 20-minute span during the night. In a statement issued Sunday, the military denied any involvement, insisting it adheres to international law and attributing the attacks to the RSF, which it said “has repeatedly been responsible for similar incidents.” Violence continued the following day. On Saturday, a drone strike hit a passenger vehicle east of Daein, killing 23 civilians and injuring three others as the vehicle traveled toward Muglad in West Kordofan. Two physicians in Daein told Mada Masr that the vehicle, carrying dozens of passengers and goods, was destroyed by a missile, killing most within the strike’s radius. The victims were transferred to Adila Hospital. Simultaneously, drone strikes targeted North Darfur’s Fasher, where three eyewitnesses speaking to Mada Masr described successive air raids over Friday and Saturday hitting neighborhoods as well as military sites, with explosions heard both inside and outside the city. A medical source said about 10 civilians were killed in an attack on the Borsa market in eastern Fasher on Saturday. Speaking to Mada Masr, RSF spokesperson Al-Fateh Qurashy accused the military of carrying out the strikes, while a military source denied involvement, insisting the military only targets supply lines and weapons depots. *** Five killed in Central Darfur by Chadian forces, eyewitnesses say Chadian troops in Central Darfur’s Um Dukhun. Courtesy: Chad Now on Facebook Five civilians were killed and 14 others injured by Chadian troops in Central Darfur’s Um Dukhun on Friday, according to five eyewitnesses and a medical source who spoke to Mada Masr. According to the eyewitnesses, the shooting took place on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, when families, split between the Sudanese and Chadian sides of Um Dukhun, gathered near the border in an open space to celebrate the holiday, as customary. One eyewitness said Chadian forces had been moving along the border and monitoring the crowds before, in what they described as an unprecedented move, opening fire on the gathering. A second eyewitness said the troops not only fired on civilians but also pursued some from the border area deeper into Sudanese territory. A source in the Chadian military told Mada Masr that the operation was aimed at smugglers. One of the witnesses said Um Dukhun is largely made up of Arab tribes, historically at odds with the Zaghawa tribe, who form a key constituency in the Chadian military as well as the Sudanese military-allied joint force of the armed movements.. The Zaghawa communities, whose lands straddle the border with North Darfur, have endured months of escalating violence, with fighting in North Darfur triggering widespread killing and displacement across their  areas, repeatedly spilling over the border. Last week, a drone strike launched from Sudan hit a funeral gathering in the Chadian town of Tina, killing at least 15 people. A ministerial source in N’Djamena told Mada Masr that the Chadian government has launched an urgent operation to evacuate Sudanese refugees from areas close to the border due to mounting security concerns. According to the source, the move follows a rise in cross-border attacks and is intended to protect the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees who have fled the ongoing war in Sudan and currently live in camps near the border. *** Repercussions of war on Iran a ‘crisis multiplier’ for Sudan’s medicine supply The US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf have set off a pharmaceutical crisis in Sudan, sources in the sector and the government told Mada Masr, as the conflict disrupts global supply chains that provide the majority of the country’s medicines. Al-Sadig Ali, a pharmacist in Khartoum State, describes the situation as a period of “compounded strain” on supply chains. According to Ali, two converging pressures are driving the crisis: the ongoing war in Sudan since April 2023 and the regional escalation that began in late February 2026. Together, these pressures have fundamentally altered how the pharmaceutical market functions, he said, altering sources of supply, inflating transport costs and disrupting distribution mechanisms. A source in the Pharmaceuticals Importers Division told Mada Masr that international shipping companies have notified Sudanese importers of an immediate increase in insurance on shipments passing through the Gulf, hiked by more than 90 percent, while introducing additional war-risk surcharges on every pharmaceutical container. A source at the Health Ministry said the cost of shipping a single pharmaceutical container has surged from an average of US$4,000 in January to between $8,500 and $9,000 within just one week of the escalation. Sudan’s heavy reliance on imports has magnified the impact. Since 2010, between 65 and 70 percent of its pharmaceutical needs have been sourced from abroad, with critical dependence on raw materials from India and China, the Health Ministry source said. Even these shipments must pass through maritime routes now affected by the war. The result has not only been higher costs, but a breakdown in what the source described as “logistical time.” A pharmaceuticals importer told Mada Masr that delivery timelines have stretched significantly, with average shipping periods rising from 28-35 days to 45-60 days due to rerouted vessels and congestion at alternative ports. These external pressures are compounding an already fragile sector within Sudan. Since the outbreak of war in 2023, Sudan’s pharmaceutical infrastructure has sustained extensive damage, particularly in Khartoum State, which previously accounted for around 70 percent of the country’s drug manufacturing capacity, according to the importer. A source at the National Medicines and Poisons Board estimates that by the end of 2024, around 85 percent of domestic production capacity had been shut down, with less than 10 percent restored by early 2026. This left Sudan entering the March crisis almost entirely dependent on imports, with virtually no local production buffer to mitigate supply shocks. By mid-March, signs of acute shortages ahead had begun to emerge. The source in the Pharmaceuticals Importers Division said that shipments arriving at Port Sudan during the second week of the month were contracted before February 20, prior to the regional escalation. New contracts, however, have encountered delays in securing bank letters of credit amid rising demand for foreign currency, while some suppliers were hesitant to commit to fixed prices in the face of volatile shipping and insurance costs. The Health Ministry source said strategic reserves of life-saving medicines — including emergency treatments, renal drugs and oncology medications — have fallen to less than 20 percent of their January 2023 levels. While part of this decline reflects mounting shortages under current conditions, it has also been driven by disruptions to internal distribution, according to the source. Insecurity along key corridors such as Kordofan and Darfur has hindered the movement of supplies between central warehouses and local centers, leading to faster depletion and difficulties restocking reserves. According to the source in the importers’ division, three outcomes are likely if current conditions persist. First, a sharp rise in pharmaceutical prices: the source estimates that some medicines could increase by 150 to 200 percent in the second quarter of 2026 if shipping and insurance costs remain high. Second, partial or complete shortages of specialized drugs, particularly those requiring complex cold chains or sourced from limited suppliers. Third, an expansion of parallel markets and smuggling networks, driven by the widening gap between official supply and actual demand. In response, the Sudanese government has begun activating a set of contingency measures. A ministerial source at the Cabinet said the Health Ministry has convened an emergency meeting with the National Medicines and Poisons Board to develop a plan for “diversifying supply routes.” This includes pivoting toward suppliers in Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. The plan also involves exploring participation in the World Health Organization’s pooled procurement mechanism for the region, with the aim of lowering costs through collective purchasing. In parallel, authorities are attempting to rebuild a limited domestic production base. Efforts are underway to restart manufacturing in relatively secure states such as Red Sea, Gezira and River Nile, alongside a partial return to factories in Khartoum, according to the ministerial source. The government is also considering urgent investment incentives to revive production of essential medicines, including antibiotics and intravenous fluids, while turning to air freight for critical drugs  despite the added expense. Yet these responses face several challenges. A shortage of foreign currency continues to constrain imports, with banks unable to meet demand for letters of credit, according to the source in the importers’ division. At the same time, global air freight markets have come under pressure since the Gulf crisis, pushing costs up by more than 70 percent. On top of these pressures, ongoing insecurity across Sudan continues to disrupt supply chains, the source said. Even if supplier diversification succeeds, Sudan is likely to remain exposed to external shocks unless domestic production capacity is meaningfully restored. As the ministerial source noted, “no short-term solution will suffice without a medium-term strategy to rebuild the pharmaceutical sector.” A senior source in the Transitional Sovereignty Council described the impact of the regional war on Sudan as a “crisis multiplier” exacerbating vulnerabilities already entrenched since 2023. If current conditions persist, the source warned, Sudan could enter a phase of acute drug scarcity by the second quarter of 2026. *** Subscribe to our Lens on Sudan newsletter here . The post Sudan Nashra: Blue Nile’s Kurmuk falls to RSF | Around 100 civilians killed in drone attacks attributed to military in Darfur | 5 killed in Central Darfur by Chadian forces, eyewitnesses say | Repercussions of war on Iran a ‘crisis multiplier’ for Sudan’s medicine supply, acute drug scarcity on the horizon, sources say first appeared on Mada Masr .