"Why Are Markets Being Targeted?" MSF Asks After Nyala Strike

A Sudanese army drone struck a crowded market in Nyala on October 26, killing at least 36 people and wounding more than 150, Doctors Without Borders said. ^[1]

The medical charity, known as MSF, said Nyala Teaching Hospital received the bodies of 36 people, including 21 wearing civilian clothing. Its teams saw more than 150 wounded patients in the emergency room after the attack, which it placed at about 8 p.m. in the west of the city. ^[1]

MSF, which supports the hospital, also said a second strike hit a civilian neighbourhood. The attacks put people at risk in places where they buy food and live, in a city that serves as a centre of power for the Rapid Support Forces, the army's opponent in Sudan's war. ^[1][2]

Dale Koninckx, MSF's project coordinator, said people at the hospital were asking: "Why are markets being targeted? The places where people need to access food, where a lot of civilians gather?" ^[1]

The account is developing. Responsibility has not been independently verified, the differing casualty counts have not been reconciled, and the impact of the reported second strike is not known. Neither MSF's statement nor the AFP account carried by Al Jazeera included a response from the Sudanese Armed Forces to the allegation that its drone carried out the attack. ^[1][2]

A hospital receiving patients through the night

People brought the wounded from the market to hospital on tuk-tuks and donkey carts, Koninckx said. Medical staff treated patients, including women and children, through the night. He described colleagues seeing people with shrapnel wounds and severe burns. ^[1]

MSF's casualty figures come from the hospital: bodies received and wounded people seen in its emergency room. That gives its account a concrete basis in medical work, while the charity's identification of the attacker remains an allegation. ^[1]

The clothing detail also requires precision. MSF said 21 of the dead wore civilian clothing. That observation does not by itself establish each person's status, and it says nothing conclusive about the status of the other 15 people whose bodies reached the hospital. ^[1]

A separate account carried by Al Jazeera, citing AFP, put the toll at 21 dead and 40 injured, based on a medical source and witnesses. A Nyala resident placed the attack at about 8 p.m. at a market in the north of the city. MSF described the location as western Nyala. ^[2][1]

Those figures should stand as separate counts. Adding them would risk counting the same people twice, while choosing the lower figure would discard MSF's account of the bodies and patients received at the hospital.

A market in an RSF stronghold

Nyala is in South Darfur and serves as the RSF's de facto capital, according to Al Jazeera, which said the Sudanese Armed Forces regularly strikes the city. The war between the army and the RSF began in 2023. ^[2]

A resident quoted by AFP said armed men, particularly RSF fighters, frequented the market. That is a resident's account of who used the site, not independent confirmation of who was there during the strike or an explanation of why it was hit. ^[2]

A city's military importance cannot establish the status of everyone shopping in it. Nor does the reported presence of fighters settle whether this particular attack complied with the obligation to protect civilians. The army's account of its target would be essential to examining that question.

Koninckx said markets, homes and essential civilian infrastructure must be protected, and called on all parties to protect civilians. His account centred on the ordinary function of the place that was struck: people gathering to obtain food. ^[1]

The October 26 attack followed another strike on a Nyala market just 10 days earlier. MSF said a drone hit Al-Mawashi market on October 16, killing at least four people and injuring many more. ^[1]

Food access under pressure

The danger reaches beyond those present at the moment of an explosion. A market is part of a city's food supply. An attack there can make obtaining essentials more dangerous for customers, traders and the people who transport goods.

The United States, European Union and 30 other countries warned of worsening access to food in Sudan and called for urgent action to prevent famine. Their joint statement urged the warring groups to remove obstacles to humanitarian assistance. ^[2]

MSF has described drone attacks by both the army and the RSF hitting schools, markets, health facilities and water sources across Sudan. In the first two weeks of February 2026 alone, its teams treated 167 people injured in drone strikes. ^[3]

For Nyala, the next steps are to reconcile the hospital and witness counts, establish the consequences of the second reported strike, and obtain the army's account. Beyond the emergency room, the immediate practical question is whether people can safely return to the market to buy food.