Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that armed drones are now the leading cause of civilian deaths in the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now in its fourth year. Increased drone use is reportedly enabling ongoing fighting despite the usual slowdown during the rainy season.
High Commissioner Volker Türk warned that violence could escalate as both sides try to control territory under changing conflict dynamics, potentially increasing displacement and disrupting humanitarian assistance. He called for immediate international intervention to prevent the conflict from entering a deadlier phase.
Most civilian deaths from drone strikes between January and April occurred in Kordofan, with a 8 May incident resulting in 26 deaths and additional injuries in South and North Kordofan. Both parties have frequently targeted civilian sites and infrastructure, including at least 28 attacks on markets and 12 on health facilities. Some facilities have closed, forcing civilians to travel farther for care or go without it. Fuel storage and supply routes have also been repeatedly targeted.
The use of drones is spreading beyond Kordofan and Darfur into regions such as Blue Nile, White Nile, and the capital Khartoum. A drone strike on Khartoum International Airport on 4 May halted all flights, and several attacks occurred in Khartoum and neighboring Omdurman between 28 April and 5 May. The rise in drone attacks has disrupted a recent period of calm and raised fears of renewed hostilities in the capital.
Türk indicated that likely intensified fighting in Kordofan could further threaten civilians through retaliatory strikes and displacement, especially in SAF-controlled cities like El Obeid and Dilling, both under siege-like conditions.