UN rights chief says drone strikes in Sudan killed at least 306 people in three weeks; Security Council condemns Abyei market attack

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday 23 October condemned an escalation in drone strikes across Sudan, which his office said killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said 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. Türk said drones already account for most conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year.

Incidents documented by the office include:

• 6 to 10 October: strikes attributed to government forces on shelters for displaced people in Ghubeish and El Nuhud, West Kordofan, killed at least 25 civilians.
• 9 October: a strike attributed to the RSF on displaced people mining gold near Abu Shendi, Blue Nile, killed at least 31 people.
• 18 October: at least 139 people were killed when a truck was hit in a repeat strike in Dibab, West Kordofan, an RSF-controlled area.

Türk urged both parties and their affiliates to commit to a ceasefire and called for an end to arms transfers used in violation of international humanitarian law.

The UN Security Council separately condemned “in the strongest terms” a 19 October drone attack on Amiet market and the Todach area in Abyei, the disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, which killed more than 80 people. It said the toll was expected to rise and called for a prompt, transparent investigation. UN News did not say who carried out the Abyei attack.

Background: The war between the SAF, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF began in April 2023. See also: Sudan’s Burhan tells RSF to ‘surrender’ as mediators meet in Geneva.