Drone Strike Kills Five at Sudanese Refugee Site in Chad
By News

A drone strike on a site sheltering Sudanese refugees inside Chad killed five people on 20 October, including two humanitarian volunteers, according to local emergency responders cited by Sudan Tribune and Darfur24. The attack in the Bamna area, close to the Sudanese border, came a day after the United Nations condemned a wave of deadly drone strikes across Sudan, and it highlights growing risks to civilians and aid workers on both sides of the border.

What happened in Bamna

Both outlets report that the strike hit a gathering of Sudanese refugees in Bamna, which has received thousands of people fleeing fighting in the North Darfur localities of Tine (also spelled Al-Tina), Um Baru and Karnoi. The Emergency Rooms Council in Tine locality said the dead were two volunteers and three displaced people, and that several others were seriously injured. Darfur24, citing a medical source in Chad, said some of the wounded were in critical condition and needed urgent surgery.

The council named the two volunteers as El Hadi Sandal Issa, coordinator of the Bamna emergency room, and Adam Omda Arja, a member of its programmes office.

The council did not attribute the strike to any party. Sudan Tribune reported that volunteers in the Tine area accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the attack; this has not been independently verified. The council said a complete communications blackout was making it difficult to monitor the situation and reach the injured, and it called for the protection of civilians and displacement shelters and for safe humanitarian access.

A wider pattern of drone attacks

On 19 October, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York: “We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children.” According to UN-sourced reporting, drone attacks over the preceding weekend killed at least 19 people, including 10 children, across West Darfur, South Darfur and North Kordofan, while strikes on 19 October hit several locations in Khartoum, including near the airport, and injured at least 19 people in a market in Abyei.

Mr Dujarric also expressed sorrow at the death of a Sudanese Red Crescent volunteer killed while giving first aid at a health centre in Um Darfa, Blue Nile State, after a drone strike. Since April 2023, 25 Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers have reportedly been killed on duty. “The targeting of those who put their own lives at risk to help others in humanitarian settings is particularly heinous,” he said.

Pressure on eastern Chad

In late September, UNHCR said daily arrivals into eastern Chad had surged twentyfold in a week, with more than 400 people a day crossing at Adré and Tiné, as reported by Sudan Tribune. More than 55,000 people had arrived in 2026 and nearly one million since April 2023. Over 190,000 refugees were stranded in informal sites awaiting relocation, about 31,000 families lacked adequate shelter, and an emergency transit facility at Tiné was sheltering more than 4,300 people amid severe shortages of water and sanitation. UNHCR also reported accounts of abduction and sexual violence along escape routes.

Funding remains a major constraint. The UN’s 2026 regional refugee response plan of USD 1.6 billion was just 20% funded in late September, and Sudan’s humanitarian response plan was just over 43% funded as of 19 October, with USD 1.25 billion received of USD 2.9 billion urgently needed. “Once again, we need more funding to sustain all of these lifesaving operations,” Mr Dujarric said.

What this means for NGO job seekers

The Bamna strike is a reminder that border areas can no longer be assumed to be safe, and that local volunteers often bear the greatest risk. For organisations working in eastern Chad and Darfur, this is likely to sharpen demand for:

  • Humanitarian security and access advisers, including staff experienced in risk assessment and remote management.
  • Protection officers, including gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection specialists.
  • Camp coordination and camp management (CCCM), shelter and WASH staff for transit and informal sites.
  • Emergency health and surgical teams, and psychosocial support workers.
  • Partnership officers supporting local responders such as emergency rooms, including duty-of-care and safeguarding roles.

Practical advice: Arabic and French are major assets in eastern Chad. Training in humanitarian security (such as HEAT or equivalent courses), knowledge of international humanitarian law and experience with community-based protection will strengthen applications. Given funding gaps, expect short-term contracts and prioritised, lifesaving programmes.

Find openings on our jobs board, including NGO jobs in Chad and NGO jobs in Sudan, or search NGO jobs by country. Our career resources offer guidance on preparing for field roles.

Sources