A paramilitary drone attack hit the family home of an army-aligned commander, killing nine of his relatives, two sources told AFP on Sunday.

The sources said the strike, which occurred at about 22:00 local time (2000 GMT) on Saturday, hit the family house of Abu Aqla Kaykal, commander of the Sudan Shield Forces, in the village of Al Kaheli, around 40 kilometres east of Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state in central Sudan.

They blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023.

Among those killed were two of Kaykal's brothers, Azzam and Haidar, a relative, Siddiq Bakhit – a commander in the Sudan Shield Forces – and six children from the family, the sources said. The house and several neighbouring homes were also damaged, they added.

Deadly war

Kaykal previously served as the RSF's commander in Al Jazirah state.

He defected to the army's side in October 2024, after which his fighters joined military operations that helped the army recapture key areas of central Sudan, including Al Jazirah and the capital Khartoum.

Now in its fourth year, Sudan's war has killed tens of thousands of people – with some estimates placing the death toll above 200,000 – displaced millions and triggered one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.