U.N. Says Drones Now Cause Majority of Conflict-Related Civilian Deaths in Sudan

The United Nations is escalating its alarm over the growing use of drones in Sudan’s war, with Anadolu Ajansı reporting Friday, citing the U.N. Human Rights Office, that drone strikes killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October. According to AA, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk strongly condemned the surge and warned that drones now account for the majority of conflict-related civilian deaths in Sudan this year.

The warning adds to a broader pattern of U.N. concern this week over attacks hitting civilians and essential infrastructure across the country. Türk said the expanding use of drones is worsening an already dire humanitarian emergency, while other U.N. officials have separately condemned deadly strikes and disruptions to basic services.

“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,” Türk said, according to AA.

Separate U.N. statements point to the same trend, even as casualty counts differ and verification remains ongoing. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement published by the U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei, or UNISFA, on Oct. 20-21, strongly condemned drone attacks in the Abyei area near Amiet Market and Todach on Oct. 19. He said the strikes killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, and injured many others. The U.N. said verification was continuing.

Earlier in the week, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric also warned of continued deadly drone attacks across Sudan. Speaking in remarks reported by Al Jazeera on Oct. 19, Dujarric said the U.N. was alarmed that civilians, including children, were being killed and that central services were being disrupted.

The differing tolls reported by U.N. bodies, local officials and media outlets underscore the difficulty of documenting violence in real time in Sudan’s conflict. Still, the U.N. messaging has become sharper and more consistent: drone warfare is expanding, civilians are bearing the brunt, and critical services are being hit.

Sudan has been at war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces, the country’s military, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has displaced millions and created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Both sides have been accused in different incidents involving drone strikes.

What stands out now is the apparent scale of the shift. According to Türk’s remarks as reported by AA, drones are no longer a secondary feature of the war but a leading cause of civilian deaths tied to the conflict this year. That marks a dangerous escalation in a war already defined by urban fighting, mass displacement and widespread hunger.

The humanitarian consequences stretch well beyond the immediate death toll. U.N. officials have warned that strikes are hitting markets, displacement sites and central services that civilians rely on, compounding insecurity for families already uprooted by fighting. In his remarks carried by AA, Türk said attacks had eviscerated vital infrastructure and services, driving further displacement and deepening the crisis.

With verification still underway for several recent incidents, the exact toll from October’s drone attacks may continue to shift. But the U.N.’s message is already clear: the spread of drone warfare in Sudan is killing civilians on a growing scale and making a catastrophic humanitarian situation even worse.