Armed drones have become “by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths” in Sudan, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement. His office counted at least 880 civilians killed in drone strikes between January and April this year. That figure is more than 80 percent of all conflict-related civilian deaths in those four months, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is in its third year. Tens of thousands of civilians have died. Over 11 million people have been displaced, and several areas have been pushed into famine.
Where the drones are hitting
Most of the deadly strikes were logged in Kordofan and Darfur. The rights office said drones are now reaching other regions as well, among them Blue Nile, White Nile and Khartoum.
Markets and health facilities have been struck again and again. The office said the attacks on civilian infrastructure are “diminishing access to sufficient food, clean water and health care.”
Drones also change the seasonal pattern of the fighting. The rainy season has historically brought a lull. Turk said drones let the fighting continue “unabated” through it.
Turk’s warning
“Unless action is taken without delay, this conflict is on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase,” he said.
He pointed to the coming weeks, when the warring parties will try to gain or hold territory as the conflict shifts. That could spread hostilities, he said, “with lethal consequences for civilians across enormous areas.” Turk called for firm measures to stop arms transfers, advanced armed drones included, to the parties to the conflict.
