A drone strike tore through a funeral procession in Khartoum yesterday. The death toll is still rising. Early reports put it at over 40. This is deliberate. Calculated. A flagrant breach of international law.
This was not a misfired ordnance. The attackers knew what they were targeting. Funerals are protected under the Geneva Conventions. This makes it a war crime. Plain and simple.
The funeral was for a prominent local figure killed in earlier fighting. Mourners gathered at a cemetery in Omdurman district. They were paying respects. Then the drone struck. Two strikes, actually. The first hit the crowd. The second hit rescuers who rushed to help. That is a signature of a calculated slaughter.
Both sides point fingers. The Sudanese Armed Forces blame the Rapid Support Forces. The RSF blames the military. But the ground truth is this: someone unleashed a weapon of precision on a civilian target. The optics are damning.
This war has dragged on since April 2023. Over 10,000 dead. Millions displaced. And the international community? Mostly mute. Condemnations, but no action. No sanctions that bite. No ceasefire that sticks.
Today's attack shifts the calculus. Or it should. The UK Foreign Office is reportedly debating targeted sanctions against both sides. But the lobby hears whispers of paralysis. Splits within the Cabinet. Some argue for engagement. Others for total isolation. The result is nothing.
The death toll keeps climbing. Civilians pay the price. And Westminster looks away. This is the grisly reality of modern conflict. Impunity is the norm.
One backbench MP told me: "We have the evidence. We have satellite images. But we lack the will." That MP asked not to be named. Fears of being sidelined.
Polling data shows the public is weary. Another foreign crisis. Another horror story. But fatigue is no excuse. The government must act. Arms embargoes. Travel bans. Asset freezes. These are not radical. They are basic tools.
Until they use them, drone strikes on funerals will continue. And this war will keep claiming the innocent.
The Lobby watches. Brooding. Waiting for a decisive move. So far, silence.
