Africa
Sudan drone strikes kill at least 306 in three weeks of October, UN rights chief Türk says
The UN human rights office says drone strikes by both the army and the RSF killed at least 306 people across Sudan in the first three weeks of October, with 139 dead in a single strike in West Kordofan.
At least 306 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in drone strikes across Sudan in the first three weeks of October, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on 23 October, as High Commissioner Volker Türk condemned what he called an escalation in attacks from the air.
The strikes have hit homes, markets, hospitals, displacement sites, power stations and water sources in Kordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile, Khartoum and other states, according to the UN. The office attributed attacks to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The deadliest incidents listed by the UN
The UN rights office pointed to several strikes this month:
- 6 to 10 October, West Kordofan: alleged strikes attributed to government forces on displacement shelters in Ghubeish and El Nuhud killed at least 25 civilians, including women and children.
- 9 October, Blue Nile: an alleged RSF drone hit displaced people working in artisanal gold mining near Abu Shendi, killing at least 31, mostly women and children.
- 11 October, Blue Nile: a strike attributed to the RSF on Um Darfa hospital seriously injured two health workers and left the facility out of service.
- 18 October, West Kordofan: a repeat, or “double tap”, strike on a transport truck in Dibab, an RSF-controlled area, killed at least 139 people.
- 19 October, Abyei: a drone attack on Amiet Market and the Todach area killed more than 80 people.
In Abyei, UN peacekeepers (UNISFA) arrived first at the scene and took more than 27 injured people to their hospital in Todach. Lt. Col. Muhammad Farooq, who commands UNISFA’s Pakistani battalion, told UN News that “every shop was burning.” Trader Angelina Musa Diaw, a mother of three, said: “No work, everything is gone.” Geopolitiki reported the first reaction to that strike in UN condemns drone strikes across Sudan: market hit in Abyei, Khartoum targeted, 10 children among 19 reported dead over the weekend.
Türk: drones now cause most civilian deaths
Türk said the use of drones is “deeply disturbing and is exacting a horrifying toll”, and that they already account for most conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year. He urged both warring parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the ban on attacking civilians and civilian objects, and to commit to a ceasefire.
He also tied the drone war to the flow of weapons into the country. “Broader peace efforts must squarely address the continued influx of arms that is fuelling the conflict,” he said. A negotiated settlement with human rights at its core, backed by accountability, is the only feasible path to lasting peace, he added.
Diplomacy and hunger
The warning comes as diplomats try to open a path out of the war. At the Geneva consultations, the UN envoy sought de-escalation while Switzerland described the conflict as a drone war, as covered in Sudan talks in Geneva: UN envoy seeks de-escalation as Switzerland calls the conflict a “drone war”. The humanitarian cost is rising in parallel: the UK and 31 partners this week demanded open aid routes, as set out in Sudan famine warning: UK and 31 partners demand open aid routes as 19.5 million face acute hunger.
The casualty figures are those of the UN human rights office, which attributes individual incidents to one side or the other and describes several as alleged.