UN chief condemns Sudan drone attacks and calls for halt to fighting

In a statement issued on 31 October, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned what he described as escalating drone attacks by the parties to Sudan’s war. He said hundreds of civilians, including women and children, had been killed across Sudan and in Abyei, the territory disputed by Sudan and South Sudan.

Guterres said the deaths constituted violations of international humanitarian law and condemned attacks directed at civilians and critical infrastructure, including health facilities. He urged the warring parties to protect civilians, halt hostilities without delay and engage in mediation.

The war has pitted Sudan’s army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. On 23 October, UN human rights chief Volker Türk reported that drone strikes had killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds in Sudan during the first three weeks of the month. The UN human rights office attributed the strikes to both sides.

That figure refers to people killed, not exclusively civilians. It is unclear how it relates to Guterres’ later estimate: his statement did not specify a period or identify the incidents included.

On 26 October, a drone struck a market in Nyala, South Darfur. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which attributed the strike to the Sudanese army, said the hospital it supports received 36 bodies and saw more than 150 wounded patients. Witnesses told the Associated Press that RSF fighters had gathered at the market and that civilian vendors were among those killed. The full death toll remains unclear.

An earlier attack on 11 October left a hospital in Um Darfa, Blue Nile, unable to operate and seriously injured two health workers, according to UN News, citing the human rights office. It attributed that strike to the RSF.

In Abyei, local official Yohana Akol Ngor told Radio Tamazuj that 153 people killed at Amiet Market on 19 October had been buried, while others remained missing. A day earlier, he had told Eye Radio that about 153 people had been buried in one grave and 73 in another. The difference has not been resolved.

Ngor blamed Sudan’s army; Sudan’s foreign ministry denied involvement. An unnamed senior military officer told the Associated Press that the army had struck fuel tankers he said were bound for the RSF and disputed that civilians were killed. The agency could not verify his account of the targets or victims. The UN Security Council has called for an investigation into the attacks near Amiet Market and Todach.

After Guterres’ statement, Darfur24 reported that two people were killed when a drone hit a vehicle carrying passengers and goods in Al-Malha, North Darfur, on 1 November. The outlet attributed the strike to Sudan’s army, citing local volunteers.