The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said he was “appalled” by the rising number of drone attacks on civilians during Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
The warning follows reports that more than 200 civilians have been killed since early March in drone strikes across the Kordofan region and in White Nile state.
The attacks come amid the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023 and has triggered one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
In West Kordofan alone, at least 152 civilians were reportedly killed in recent strikes attributed to the Sudanese military.
On March 4, a drone strike hit a market and hospital in the town of Al-Muglad, killing at least 50 civilians. Three days later, additional attacks on markets in Abu Zabad and Wad Banda reportedly killed at least 40 people.
Another strike on March 10 targeted a truck carrying civilians in Al-Sunut, leaving at least 50 people dead, including women and children.
Türk warned that the use of drones equipped with explosive weapons in populated areas raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law.
UN officials say civilian infrastructure such as markets, schools and hospitals has increasingly been targeted during the conflict. At least 57 civilians were killed in just two days of drone attacks earlier this year, including 15 children.
The conflict in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced millions since fighting erupted between rival military factions in 2023.
