Drone warfare has become an increasingly prominent feature of Sudan's conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"It is tragic. The roofs of houses collapsed on their occupants," a resident of the Al-Matar neighbourhood in the city's east said, describing the aftermath of the strikes.

"When you look at some houses, you feel no one could have survived," he told AFP on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

Another resident of the Al-Qubba neighbourhood in the city centre said his cousin was among those killed and that he had seen more than seven bodies brought to a local hospital.

A medical source told AFP that two children and a woman believed to be their mother were among those killed.

The Emergency Lawyers group, which has been documenting abuses throughout the war, said the attack on the key hub in the southern Kordofan region began on Wednesday evening and continued into Thursday, striking residential areas, a funeral gathering and a truck carrying food supplies.

At least 19 other people were wounded, according to the group, which blamed the attacks on the RSF. The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from the paramilitary force.

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, has been partially encircled for months by paramilitary forces and sits along a key route linking RSF-held areas in Darfur to army-controlled regions in the east.

- Attack on mourners -

According to the Emergency Lawyers, five civilians were killed and 12 wounded in the initial strikes. A subsequent attack targeted mourners gathered at a cemetery, killing four people and injuring seven others.

Further strikes hit homes in the Al-Muwazafin and Al-Matar neighbourhoods on the eastern edge of the city, as well as areas around the headquarters of the Fifth Infantry Division in the city centre. Thirteen civilians were killed as they gathered near damaged houses, the group said.

In a separate incident early Thursday, a drone strike hit a truck carrying food supplies at the southern entrance to El-Obeid, killing the driver and destroying the cargo.

According to the United Nations, at least 880 civilians were killed in drone strikes across the country between January and April this year.

Fighting has intensified in recent months in the Kordofan region and Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border, particularly after the RSF captured El-Fasher last October, the army's last major stronghold in western Darfur.

Kordofan -- home to oil deposits, arable land and the RSF's most powerful paramilitary allies -- remains a key battleground and continues to be fiercely contested.

The wider conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 11 million from their homes, creating what the UN describes as the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.