Drone Strikes in Sudan Claim 28 Lives, Civilian Casualties Mount

In a tragic escalation of violence, two drone strikes in Sudan have claimed the lives of at least 28 civilians, marking a grave chapter in the ongoing conflict between the country’s military factions. This surge in drone warfare has pushed the death toll past 500 for the year, underscoring the devastation inflicted on the civilian population.

Communicating through satellite internet amidst a communications blackout, health workers from two cities separated by nearly 500 miles reported the fatalities to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday.

Despite persistent appeals from the United Nations to cease drone attacks and safeguard civilians, the relentless strikes carried out by both Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continue unabated.

A devastating attack on Wednesday struck a marketplace in Saraf Omra, located in North Darfur. According to a local clinic worker, the assault killed 22 people, including a baby, and left 17 wounded.

“The drone targeted a stationary oil truck, igniting it and part of the market,” recounted Hamid Suleiman, a vendor at the site, which serves Saraf Omra and its surrounding areas in the remote region of Darfur.

Meanwhile, in North Kordofan, another drone strike targeted a truck journeying along a road within army-controlled territory, igniting a deadly blaze far from the RSF’s strongholds.

“A local hospital in El-Rahad received six bodies, three of which were severely burned, along with 10 injured victims,” a medical source reported to AFP, attributing the attack to the RSF. The victims were traveling between El-Rahad and Um Rawaba.

These drone strikes have repeatedly targeted Sudan’s central east-west highway running through the North Kordofan state capital, El-Obeid, connecting Darfur to eastern army-controlled areas.

Hundreds killed

Since April 2023, the violent conflict between these former allies has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced approximately 11 million individuals, inciting the largest hunger and displacement crisis globally.

The United Nations reports over 500 civilian deaths from drone strikes from January through mid-March alone, mainly in Kordofan, now the epicenter of conflict.

Highlighting the alarming growth in drone warfare, the U.N. rights office noted the “devastating impact” of affordable, high-tech weapons in densely populated regions.

Recently, a drone strike attributed to the army on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in Darfur during the Eid al-Fitr holiday resulted in 70 deaths and 146 injuries.

Earlier, a separate strike linked to paramilitary groups killed 24 in the Chadian town of Tine, igniting fears of a broader regional conflict.

In response to rising tensions, Chad’s information minister, Gassim Cherif Mahamat, told France 24 that Chad has ramped up military presence along its 1,300-kilometer border with Sudan, promising a “proportionate response” to any future aggression.

Pekka Haavisto, the U.N.’s new special envoy for Sudan, has embarked on his inaugural visit to the country, committed to promoting peace amid a seemingly stalemated situation, where U.N. efforts for a truce and discouragement of foreign interference have yielded limited progress.