Sudan’s war has taken a deadly turn in the skies. Over the past few days, the United Nations has issued condemnation after condemnation as drone strikes surge across the country, now hitting markets, displacement camps and vital infrastructure in several regions. According to the UN Human Rights Office, these attacks killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October alone.
Volker Türk delivered this toll on Friday, October 23. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the growing use of drones as deeply disturbing, noting that they have become the leading cause of conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year. He urged the international community to curb the flow of drones into the country, particularly those used against civilians.
Neither side escapes blame. UN investigations implicate both the Sudanese army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Between October 6 and 10, strikes attributed to the army hit shelters for displaced people in Ghubeish and El Nuhud, in West Kordofan, killing at least 25 civilians. The RSF, for its part, is accused of targeting the Bajaun gold-mining area in Gadeer, South Kordofan, where 42 civilians died. The UN is particularly alarmed by what it calls a deeply concerning pattern: the repeated targeting of sites sheltering displaced populations.
Some attacks have reached a scale rarely seen. On October 18, at least 139 people were killed when a transport truck was hit by a double strike in Dibab, an RSF-controlled locality in West Kordofan. The very next day, tragedy struck Abyei, the oil-rich territory disputed by Sudan and South Sudan. The Amiet market and the nearby Todach area were hit, and the death toll kept climbing. The Secretary-General’s spokesperson first reported 28 civilians killed, before the UN force deployed on the ground spoke of more than 80 dead. The Security Council now refers to more than 150 victims.
Council members firmly condemned the attack and called for a swift and thorough investigation so that those responsible are held to account. They recalled that international humanitarian law prohibits targeting civilians and that such acts could amount to war crimes. Juba, for its part, announced it would lodge a formal protest.
The capital has not been spared either. In Khartoum, drones struck several districts, including an area near the international airport, killing at least one person and forcing the cancellation of commercial flights. These strikes, attributed to the RSF, were reportedly a response to alleged army raids on Nyala, in South Darfur. The previous weekend, at least 19 people, including 10 children, had been killed in similar attacks in West Darfur, South Darfur and North Kordofan.
Humanitarian workers are also paying a heavy price. The UN expressed deep sorrow over the death of a Sudanese Red Crescent volunteer, killed while treating the wounded at a health centre in Um Darfa, in Blue Nile state, which was itself hit by a drone.
On the diplomatic front, efforts are nonetheless continuing. Pekka Haavisto, the Secretary-General’s personal envoy for Sudan, convened a new consultation in Geneva aimed at better coordinating the various peace initiatives. The goal remains to end a war that has lasted more than three years and plunged the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
