UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Friday strongly condemned an escalation in drone strikes across Sudan this month, which killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October alone.
The strikes, attributed to both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), hit homes, markets, hospitals, displacement sites, power stations and water sources in Kordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile, Khartoum and other states, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
“The increasing use of drones, already accounting for the majority of conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year, is deeply disturbing and is exacting a horrifying toll,” Mr. Türk said.
Targeted by both sides
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
In a particularly disturbing trend, the office documented numerous strikes on displacement sites, where people who had already fled the fighting had sought shelter.
Between 6 and 10 October, alleged drone strikes attributed to military government forces on shelters for displaced people in Ghubeish and El Nuhud in West Kordofan killed at least 25 civilians, including women and children.
On 9 October, an alleged RSF drone struck a crowd of displaced people engaged in artisanal gold mining near a displacement site in Abu Shendi, Blue Nile, killing at least 31 people, most of them women and children.
On 18 October, at least 139 people were killed when a transportation truck was hit in a “double tap” repeat strike in Dibab, West Kordofan, an area controlled by the RSF militia.
Markets and hospitals have also been hit, including an RSF-attributed strike on Um Darfa hospital in Blue Nile on 11 October that seriously injured two health workers and left the facility non-operational.
“Scores of civilians have been killed, including internally displaced persons, and vital infrastructure and services have been eviscerated, driving further displacement and deepening the already severe humanitarian crisis,” said OHCHR Spokesperson Seif Magango.
Deadly strike
Peacekeepers with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) this week visited communities affected by a drone attack on 19 October on Amiet Market and the Todach area in Abyei, the disputed oil-rich region between Sudan and South Sudan. The attack killed more than 80 people.
UNISFA troops were the first to reach the scene, where “every shop was burning”, said Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Farooq, commander of the Mission’s Pakistani battalion.
The Mission deployed quick reaction and firefighting teams to stop the fire spreading and took more than 27 injured people to its hospital in Todach, according to Acting Force Commander Brigadier General Adebowale Ajabge.
Angelina Musa Diaw, a trader and mother of three, said she had lost everything. “No work, everything is gone,” she said. “I am here with my children. But I need help.”
Call for ceasefire
Mr. Türk called on the parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), including by not directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects.
“Broader peace efforts must squarely address the continued influx of arms that is fuelling the conflict and press for an end to the transfer of arms that are used in manifest disregard of the IHL obligations protecting civilians,” he said.
“I urge both parties to the conflict, and their affiliates, to commit to a ceasefire,” the High Commissioner added, stressing that a negotiated settlement with human rights at its core, underpinned by accountability, is the only feasible pathway to sustainable peace in Sudan.
Discussion about this post