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A deadly drone strike in North Kordofan State has killed one of Sudan’s most prominent tribal figures, Paramount Chief Suleiman Jaber Jumaa Sahl, along with ten senior elders of the Arab Majaneen tribe, in an attack that has deepened confusion over drone operations in contested airspace and devastated traditional authority networks.

The strike took place on Friday in Al-Mazroub, an area under Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control in West Bara locality. Videos reviewed by Sudan War Monitor show the bodies of victims lying in the courtyard of the Majaneen tribal compound, some covered in blood-soaked sheets.

According to locals, the drone targeted a tribal leadership meeting at the Majaneen headquarters while elders were gathered to discuss community affairs. The blast killed Chief Suleiman Jaber and ten others instantly, leaving fifteen more wounded. Eyewitnesses described the aftermath as “a massacre,” with community members transporting the injured to Mazroub Hospital using private cars and donkey carts amid heavy dust and panic.

The dead include Bukhari Mishawir Jaber Jumaa, Abdel-Hafiz Abu Rukok, Nile Ibrahim Jaber Jumaa, Mohamed Ibrahim Jaber Jumaa, Jumaa Mirdas, Aboud Haj Mohamed, Haj Obeid, Mohamed El Sayed, Khalifa Mofreh, and Abdel-Baqi Farah — all senior figures within the Majaneen tribe known for resolving local disputes and maintaining community governance.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) did not issue any statement to deny or confirm involvement in the strike. However, pro-SAF propagandists on social media immediately attributed the attack to the RSF, despite the area being under RSF control.

The RSF, in a statement released late Friday, directly accused the army of carrying out the drone strike, calling it a deliberate attack on civilians. The group described the incident as part of what it called the SAF’s “genocidal campaign” against communities in Darfur and Kordofan.

“In continuation of their grave violations and deliberate targeting of innocent civilians, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), operating under the so-called terrorist Islamic Movement, committed yet another massacre on Friday using a drone that directly targeted civilians.”

“The attack resulted in the deaths of dozens of innocent people, including the chief, senior figures of the civil administration, and prominent members of Majaneen tribe in Al-Mazroub area, which lies under the control of our forces in North Kordofan State.”

“The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), while mourning the martyrs of the region, strongly condemns this heinous act of aggression and affirms that the deliberate targeting of civilians falls within the framework of the revenge and genocide campaign waged by the so-called ‘terrorist SAF,’ led by the Port Sudan clique, against the civilian components of community,” said the RSF statement issued via Telegram.

In a separate statement, the pro-RSF civil administration in West Kordofan State condemned the attack, calling it “a grave violation of all national values and norms, and a deliberate targeting of community leaders and traditional authorities who play a central role in preserving the social fabric and promoting peace and stability.”

Mazroub lies deep within RSF-controlled territory in North Kordofan and is bordered by West Kordofan state to the southwest, Sheikan Locality to the south, Bara Locality to the east, Jabra El Sheikh Locality to the northeast, and Sudri, Umm Badr and Hamra El-Sheikh localities to the north. All, but Sheikan and part of Bara are under the Sudanese army control.

High credible individuals on social media have dismissed claims that the RSF could have bombed its own territory.

The late Nazer Suleiman Jaber Sahl descended from Mishawir Jumaa Sahl, the parliamentarian who seconded Sudan’s historic motion for independence in December 1955. Known across Kordofan for his wisdom and neutrality, Suleiman was a respected mediator in tribal conflicts and an influential voice for reconciliation. His killing has left the Majaneen tribe leaderless and shaken the wider network of traditional authorities across Kordofan.

The attack marks a further escalation in Sudan’s drone warfare. It underscores the widening reach of the parties’ aerial campaign into each other’s controlled areas and the increasing risk to civilian and community gatherings. While both sides maneuvered to control the narrative, the strike has erased an entire layer of local leadership that once served as a stabilizing force in Kordofan’s fragile social balance