The conflict in Sudan is witnessing a worrying escalation in violence, with the growing use of drones resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians since the beginning of the year.
The Kordofan region is hardest hit, according to the United Nations.
Between January and mid-March, more than 500 civilians were killed in drone strikes, most of them in the strategic Kordofan area, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
According to its spokesperson Marta Hurtado, the majority of victims were recorded across three Kordofan states. The UN has expressed concern over the increasing use of these weapons, which are both easily accessible and highly destructive in urban settings.
In the first two weeks of March alone, more than 277 civilians were killed, most of them in drone attacks, which continued through the end of Ramadan.
Among the deadliest incidents was a strike on March 20, coinciding with Eid al-Fitr, which targeted Al-Deain University Hospital in East Darfur. At least 60 people were killed, including 13 children and seven women, while 146 others were injured.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack, stressing that international humanitarian law prohibits targeting civilians and protects medical facilities.
Since April 2023, more than 200 attacks on healthcare facilities have been recorded, resulting in over 2,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The destruction of Al-Deain hospital has deprived more than two million people of direct access to healthcare.
The violence is also spilling across Sudan’s borders. On March 18, a drone strike in Tiné, Chad, killed at least 24 people and injured around 60 others, raising fears of a broader regional escalation.
The civil war, which erupted in April 2023, has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, including nearly one million refugees in Chad.
Faced with the deteriorating situation, the United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire and urged the international community to halt arms transfers fueling the conflict.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in fighting between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), triggering one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, marked by mass displacement and repeated attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, particularly healthcare facilities.
DM/te/Sf/lb/as/APA