Dozens die in more drone strikes on Sudan’s Kordofan
As the war in Sudan approaches three years, analysts and humanitarian workers say an increase in drone strikes in Sudan’s Kordofan region is harming civilians and hindering aid operations.
At least 77 people were killed and dozens injured in various attacks, mostly carried out by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in densely populated areas, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, a group that has monitored violence throughout the war. Most of the victims were civilians.
The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army escalated into a full-scale war in April 2023. At least 40,000 people have been killed and 12 million displaced so far, according to the World Health Organization. Aid groups say the real figure could be many times higher as conflict in large, remote areas hinders access.
Jalale Getachew Birru, East Africa senior analyst at the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), said the military increased its use of drones and air strikes in Kordofan last year as the conflict shifted westward, making the area a “primary area of operations.”
Two weeks ago, the army announced that it had broken the RSF siege of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan province, and the neighboring town of Dilling, after more than two years.
However, Birru said the sieges were not completely broken. “These cities are still besieged and the fight for control of these cities and the wider region continues,” he told The Associated Press.
Kadugli resident Walid Mohamed told the AP that breaking the siege allowed more goods and medicine to enter the city, the corridor with Dilling was reopened, and food prices were brought down after the dire humanitarian situation there. But since then, RSF said drone attacks have occurred almost daily, mostly targeting hospitals, markets and homes.
Dilling resident Omran Ahmed also said drone strikes have increased, “spreading fear and terror among residents as we see more civilians falling victim.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk sounded the alarm on Wednesday that more than 50 civilians had been killed in drone strikes in two days this week.
Turk condemned attacks on civilian areas, including markets, health facilities and schools, saying, “These latest killings are another reminder of the devastating consequences of the increasing use of drone warfare in Sudan on civilians.”
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said there was evidence that both sides used drones against civilians in this week’s attacks.
“These civilians were at times in government-controlled and RSF-controlled areas, which leads us to believe that both sides were using them,” he said.
Two military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, told the AP this week that the military did not target civilian infrastructure.
A UN convoy delivered aid to more than 130,000 people in Dilling and Kadugli, the first major delivery in three months, United Nations agencies said on Wednesday. But aid workers are worried about an increase in violence.
Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the AP there was “huge concern” about the “unacceptable” escalation in Kordofan, which could “devastate lives and hinder hopes of reversing the famine/hunger problem in the region.”
“This is a very random thing. Between Kordofan, Darfur and the east (Sennar), we now receive messages every day like ‘drone attack here, attack on civilian infrastructure, killed people’,” Vu said.
