Drone attacks by both sides of the war in Sudan continue to claim civilian lives across different parts of the country. However, the scope of these attacks has increasingly concentrated on the five Darfur states and the three Kordofan regions, leading to a worrying rise in deaths and injuries among civilians.
The use of drones by the warring parties has shifted from targeting military movements and bases to striking schools, residential neighborhoods, and civilian infrastructure, including power stations, economic facilities, hospitals, shelters, and markets.
Targeting Civilians
In this context, Kabashi Saadallah, a resident of Al-Qoz area in South Kordofan, told Mashawir that “five members of his family were killed in a drone strike carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces on a local market, while dozens were seriously injured.”
Saadallah explained that “the town of Abu Zabad has recently been subjected to continuous drone attacks by the Sudanese army, targeting civilian , especially markets. Indiscriminate shelling has become one of the most dangerous threats, causing dozens of civilian casualties.”
He warned that the use of drones poses a direct danger to civilians and infrastructure, including hospitals, power stations, and economic facilities.
Rising Human Losses
Meanwhile, humanitarian volunteer Salim Al-Zubair, working in displacement centers in Al-Daein, East Darfur, stated that “the army is targeting civilians in several cities and areas in Darfur using drones under the pretext that they are supportive environments for the Rapid Support Forces. When disasters occur and casualties rise, responsibility is denied.”
He added that “the blood of innocent people has become fuel for the media war between the two sides, used in statements of condemnation and psychological propaganda campaigns, as well as in mutual accusations.”
Al-Zubair noted that the use of drones in residential areas carries serious risks, potentially causing massive human and material losses, in addition to targeting power stations and strategic facilities linked to civilians’ daily lives, especially hospitals and service institutions.
Killing Innocents
Similarly, Jaber Al-Tahir, a resident of El-Obeid, North Kordofan, said that the Rapid Support Forces have “for a long time targeted the city with drones, even hitting homes, neighborhoods, and hospitals, resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of civilians—constituting full-fledged war crimes.”
He pointed out that since the early days of the conflict, the RSF “has not adhered to rules of engagement or wartime norms, particularly the protection of civilians, and has instead resorted to continuous drone bombardment of populated areas.”
Al-Tahir stressed that “safe cities are losing dozens of innocent lives daily due to ongoing drone strikes, amid international silence over militia crimes against civilians across the country.”
Numerous Incidents
Reports indicate that 152 civilians were killed in West Kordofan due to drone strikes carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces. Among them, 50 civilians died when attacks targeted a market and a hospital in Al-Mujlad on March 4, according to a statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Additional attacks on two separate markets in Abu Zabad and Wad Banda on March 7 killed 40 civilians. On March 10, a truck carrying civilians was reportedly struck by a Sudanese army drone in Al-Sunut, killing around 50 people, including women and children.
In South Kordofan, reports indicated that 39 civilians were killed, including 14 in the state capital, Al-Dilling, following heavy shelling by the Rapid Support Forces and the allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North on March 4 and 5. Homes, schools, markets, and health facilities were damaged or destroyed, worsening the impact on civilians and local communities.
The World Health Organization reported on Saturday that an attack on Al-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur killed at least 70 people, including children, paramedics, and patients, with more bodies being recovered from the rubble.
The organization confirmed that the hospital was bombed on March 20, though it did not identify the responsible party. The strike led to the suspension of operations at the facility, which had served as a referral hospital for more than two million people.
700 Dead
Additionally, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher announced that approximately 700 civilians have been killed in Sudan since January due to drone strikes.
In a statement marking the anniversary of the war that began in April 2023, Fletcher described it as a “grim milestone,” noting that “around 700 civilians were killed in drone bombardments during the first three months of this year,” and that the anniversary comes after “another year in which the international community failed to fulfill its responsibilities toward the Sudan crisis.”
In recent months, near-daily drone strikes have disrupted life across Sudan, particularly in Kordofan—now a major battleground—and in western regions under RSF control, including Darfur.
