The Kordofan regions has been particularly hit by drone attacks from both sides [Getty/file photo]
UN rights chief Volker Turk said on Thursday he was “appalled” at reports that more than 200 civilians had been killed by drone attacks in Sudan since 4 March.
In their battle for territory, both sides in the Sudan conflict have relied on advanced drone warfare, drawing frequent condemnation from the United Nations and suggesting healthy supply routes from their foreign backers.
“It is deeply troubling that despite multiple reminders, warnings and appeals, parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas,” Turk said in a statement.
“I renew my call on them to abide fully with international humanitarian law in their use of these weapons, particularly the clear prohibition on directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure, and against any form of indiscriminate attacks.”
Since erupting in April 2023, the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands and forced 11 million people to flee their homes.
Turk said that in West Kordofan, at least 152 civilians had reportedly been killed by SAF drone strikes, including at least 50 when a market and a hospital were hit on 4 March in the town of Muglad.
Attacks on two separate markets in RSF-controlled Abu Zabad and Wad Banda on 7 March, left at least 40 civilians dead, said Turk.
A truck carrying civilians was struck allegedly by an SAF drone in Al-Sunut on 10 March reportedly killing at least 50 civilians, he said.
As for White Nile, which lies just east of the southern Kordofan region, Turk voiced alarm at the recent expansion of the conflict to the state. He said it had come under heavy attack by RSF drone strikes since 4 March.
A secondary school and a health clinic in Shukeiri village were hit on 11 March reportedly killing at least 17 civilians, he said.
Multiple other RSF drones have hit the state capital Kosti since 4 March, including one that struck a university dormitory on 9 March, reportedly wounding seven students, he added.
Another drone hit an electrical transformer at the Um Dabakir station on 10 March, causing widespread power outages, the UN rights chief said.
“It will soon be three full years since the senseless conflict in Sudan began, devastating millions of lives and livelihoods,” he added.
“Yet the violence, fuelled by these new technologies of war, simply keeps spreading.
“It is high time it came to an end. The Sudanese people have already suffered far too much.”
