The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said On Thursday he said he was “appalled” by the increase in drone attacks on civilians in Sudan. More than 200 civilians have reportedly been killed in attacks in the Kordofan region and White Nile state since March 4.
According to the UN human rights office, the latest wave of attacks has caused numerous civilian casualties in several regions. In West Kordofan aloneAt least 152 civilians have reportedly been killed in drone strikes by the Sudanese armed forces. On March 4, a drone strike hit a market and a hospital in the city of Al-Muglad, killing at least 50 civilians. Three days later, additional attacks on markets in Abu Zabad and Wad Banda reportedly killed at least 40 civilians. On March 10, a drone strike allegedly carried out by the Sudanese military hit a truck carrying civilians in Al-Sunut, killing at least 50 people, including women and children.
Türk warned that the increasing use of drones to deploy explosive weapons in populated areas raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law. He stressed that international humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks on civilians, attacks on civilian objects and indiscriminate attacks that do not distinguish between civilian and military targets. Türk called for renewed diplomatic pressure to secure a humanitarian ceasefire, followed by a permanent ceasefire and negotiations aimed at restoring inclusive civilian rule in Sudan.
He warned against this in earlier remarks this year growing militarization across the country and a sharp increase in civilian killings. UN documentation from 2025 recorded a more than two-and-a-half-fold increase in civilian deaths compared to the previous year, with many victims still missing or unidentified.
Further violence was reported in South Kordofan, where at least 39 civilians were killed in attacks attributed to terrorism Fast support staff and allied fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North. According to reports, 14 civilians were killed in heavy artillery shelling in the state capital Dilling between March 4 and 5.
The current violence stems from a civil war that broke out on April 15, 2023, when fighting broke out between Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces following tensions over security integration and political transition. The war has sparked one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with millions displaced, widespread food insecurity and collapse of the health system, and widespread violations of human rights and humanitarian law documented by international organizations. According to a conflict overview published by Amnesty InternationalSince April 2023, clashes have been characterized by the indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in populated areas and widespread attacks on civilians, displacing over 7.3 million people and causing massive suffering across the country.
