According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), armed drones are now, by far, the leading cause of death among civilians.
An intensification of hostilities in the coming weeks, as belligerents seek to take or consolidate control of territories amid changing conflict dynamics, risks seeing hostilities spread further into central and eastern states, with deadly consequences for civilians across large areas.
“This increasing use of drones allows hostilities to continue unabated as the rainy season approaches, which in the past led to a lull in ground operations,” High Commissioner Volker Türk said in a statement.
A village on the outskirts of El Fasher, in the Darfur region of Sudan, after an attack.
Kordofan, epicenter of drone strikes
Most civilian deaths attributed to drone strikes during the first quarter of the year were recorded in the Kordofan region. The latest episode dates back to Friday May 8, when drone strikes in South Kordofan and North Kordofan reportedly left 26 civilians dead and several injured.
Generally speaking, parties to the conflict have used drones, repeatedly striking civilian property and infrastructure. This is the case for markets which have been targeted on several occasions, with at least 28 attacks of this type causing civilian casualties.
Health establishments are not spared with at least 12 times more strikes during this four-month period. In some cases, this wave of drones has led to the closure of hospitals, forcing civilians to travel long distances for treatment, or even to go without health care altogether.
Fuel depots and supply routes have also been hit several times in recent weeks.
The use of drones is expanding
The use of drones by the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) is increasingly extending beyond Kordofan and Darfur, towards the Blue Nile, the White Nile and Khartoum.Â
A drone strike on Khartoum International Airport on May 4 resulted in the disruption of all flights, and between April 28 and May 5, several targeted drone attacks took place elsewhere in Khartoum and in the twin city of Omdurman.
“The intensity of these attacks shattered the relative calm that reigned in recent months, as increasing numbers of civilians returned to the capital, and raised fears of a resumption of hostilities in Khartoum,” Türk said.
According to OHCHR, a likely intensification of hostilities in Kordofan will also put civilians at increased risk of reprisal attacks and further large-scale displacement, particularly in the towns of El Obeid and Dilling in South Kordofan, controlled by the Armed Forces. Sudanese (FAS) and who are both in a situation resembling a siege.
Sudanese IDPs camp at a reception center in Tawila, after fleeing El Fasher and surrounding areas of North Darfur (Archives)
The risk of an even more deadly phase
Widening violence would also disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid. “Much of the country, including Kordofan, now faces an increased risk of famine and acute food insecurity, a situation exacerbated by expected fertilizer delays or shortages due to the Gulf crisis,” Türk added.
Faced with this use of deadly drones, the UN human rights chief is calling for the adoption of energetic measures to prevent the transfer of weapons, particularly increasingly sophisticated armed drones. A way of reminding us that drone attacks against civilians and civilian property will only get worse if they remain completely unpunished.
“With violence becoming more and more the norm as a preferred tactic for both sides, if action is not taken without delay, this conflict is on the verge of entering a new, even more deadly phase,” Türk insisted.
