Arabic version: الأمم المتحدة تدين ضربات الطائرات المسيّرة في السودان التي أودت بحياة 306 أشخاص

According to Allafrica, drone strikes across Sudan killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more during the first three weeks of October. UN human rights chief Volker Türk strongly condemned the escalation, saying the growing use of drones was exacting a horrifying toll on civilians.

The UN human rights office said strikes attributed to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces hit homes, markets, hospitals, displacement sites, power stations and water sources. The affected areas included Kordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile and Khartoum, as well as other states. Türk said drones had already accounted for the majority of conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year.

OHCHR documented repeated attacks on displacement sites. Between 6 and 10 October, alleged strikes attributed to military government forces on shelters in Ghubeish and El Nuhud, West Kordofan, killed at least 25 civilians, including women and children. On 9 October, an alleged RSF drone strike near a displacement site in Abu Shendi, Blue Nile, killed at least 31 people, most of them women and children.

On 18 October, a transportation truck was hit in a “double tap” repeat strike in Dibab, West Kordofan, killing at least 139 people. An RSF-attributed strike on Um Darfa hospital in Blue Nile on 11 October seriously injured two health workers and left the facility non-operational. In Abyei, a 19 October drone attack on Amiet Market and the Todach area killed more than 80 people, according to the report.

Türk called on the parties and their affiliates to commit to a ceasefire and comply with international humanitarian law, including by not attacking civilians or civilian objects. He also said peace efforts must address arms transfers that fuel the conflict, and urged a negotiated settlement centred on human rights and accountability.