A drone strike attributed to Sudan's notorious paramilitaries struck a gathering of displaced people on the border with Ethiopia, killing 41, a rights group said.

According to Emergency Lawyers, an organisation that monitors the war in the northeastern African nation, Friday's strike by the Rapid Support Forces occurred in the Abu Shandi area of Sudan's Blue Nile province.

The group stated that those killed included eight children together with a substantial number of women.

A spokesperson for the RSF did not respond to a request for comment.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs expressed its profound dismay at the reported strike, which also left dozens wounded.

“Condemning these senseless killings is essential, but there must also be accountability for this flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law,” said Denise Brown, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan in a statement.

“As each day goes by in this war, the world continues to accept the suffering of the people of Sudan.”

Sudan's war erupted in April 2023, when tensions between the military and the RSF boiled over into open hostilities in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country.

The conflict has claimed the lives of no fewer than 59,000 people, according to the conflict monitor ACLED, though aid groups contend that the true toll is likely higher.

According to U.N. figures, it has compelled more than 12.4 million people to flee their homes, precipitating what aid groups describe as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Across Sudan, 33.7 million people, including 17.3 million children, stand in urgent need of assistance this year, and an estimated 825,000 children confront severe acute malnutrition.