Sudan drone strikes kill 306 in three weeks, UN rights body says

Drone strikes across Sudan killed at least 306 people in the first three weeks of October, a United Nations rights body said on Friday, warning that attacks attributed to both warring sides are increasingly devastating civilian areas.

The UN Human Rights Office documented hundreds of injuries as strikes hit homes, markets, hospitals, displacement sites, power stations and water sources in Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile, Khartoum and other states.

Drones have accounted for the majority of conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said, urging the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to respect international humanitarian law.

Among the deadliest incidents, at least 139 people were killed on Oct. 18 when a transport truck was struck in a repeat attack in Dibab, West Kordofan, an area controlled by the RSF, the UN rights body said.

Alleged SAF drone strikes on shelters for internally displaced people in Ghubeish and El Nuhud, West Kordofan, killed at least 25 civilians and injured 31 between Oct. 6 and 10.

In Blue Nile state, an alleged RSF drone strike killed at least 31 displaced people, mostly women and children, near an artisanal gold mining site in Abu Shendi on Oct. 9. Two alleged RSF strikes on the Bajaun gold mining area in South Kordofan on Oct. 9 and 16 killed 42 civilians and injured 25 others, the UN said.

Drone strikes on markets in North Darfur, South Darfur and West Kordofan killed another 23 civilians, while an alleged RSF strike on Um Darfa hospital in Blue Nile injured two health workers and forced the facility to close.

The UN body also warned of retaliatory strikes, saying RSF-attributed drone attacks around Khartoum airport were reportedly carried out in response to alleged SAF aerial strikes on Nyala, South Darfur.

Türk said attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are deepening displacement and worsening Sudan’s humanitarian crisis. He called for an end to arms transfers used in violations of international humanitarian law and urged both sides to agree to a ceasefire.

Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the SAF and RSF, displacing millions and devastating infrastructure across the country.

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