Darfur-bound aid destroyed, 20 civilians dead as drones hit eastern Chad market

A drone strike on the weekly market in Adikon, near the Adré crossing at the Sudan–Chad border, left a large number of civilians dead and injured on Friday afternoon after a missile hit the market area, as well as humanitarian aid trucks en route to North Darfur and Kordofan. A resident of Adikon said the drone struck the market directly, causing heavy civilian casualties. She reported that more than ten charred bodies were recovered from shops that were completely destroyed by the explosions and ensuing fires.

Badr El Din Dawoud, Executive Director of the Isenga Administrative Unit, said a Turkish-made Bayraktar drone had fired two missiles at the weekly market, killing between 18 and 20 people, most of them Chadian traders. He added that many others were wounded, some critically, and that dozens of people remain unaccounted for. Those with severe injuries were transported to hospitals inside Chad.

Dawoud said a truck carrying humanitarian supplies bound for Babanousa and El Fasher was completely burned in the attack, with several aid workers on board killed. He noted that the majority of those who died at the site were Chadian civilians working as traders in the market.

The head of the Civil Administration in West Darfur, Tijani Karshoum, said authorities had taken urgent measures following the incident, including forming a committee to assess loss of life and property, a security committee to protect civilians, and a technical committee to reorganise the market. Karshoum stressed that the crossing used for aid delivery is a recognised humanitarian corridor approved by the United Nations and the Security Council. He confirmed that aid trucks had been burned in the attack and urged the UN and the international community to take firm action to prevent further targeting of relief convoys.

Abdel-Baqi, head of the West Darfur Founding Council, said a government delegation visited the area after the strike and assessed the scale of the damage. He stated that the airstrike targeted traders and civilians going about their daily activities, emphasising that there were no military sites in the area. He condemned the attack, describing it as a deliberate strike on innocent and unarmed civilians.

Eastern Chad hosts at least 1.2 million (UN estimates) Sudanese refugees, many of whom have fled from Darfur since the outbreak of the current hostilities in April 2023.