<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk condemned the expanding use of armed drones in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now entering a fourth year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cArmed drones have now become by far the leading cause of civilian deaths,\u201d T\u00fcrk said. T\u00fcrk added that reliance on drones allows fighting to continue during the approaching rainy season, which historically reduces ground operations.<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk warned that violence could spread further in the coming weeks as both parties attempt to gain or consolidate territorial control, increasing displacement and disrupting humanitarian aid. \u201cThe international community is on notice,\u201d T\u00fcrk said, warning that without immediate action the conflict is \u201con the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Most civilian deaths linked to drone strikes between January and April were recorded in the Kordofan region. The most recent incident occurred on May 8, when 26 civilians were reportedly killed in strikes on Al Quz in South Kordofan and near El Obeid in North Kordofan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk said drone strikes repeatedly hit civilian infrastructure, including markets, with at least 28 attacks causing civilian casualties. Health facilities were struck at least 12 times during the four\u2011month period, forcing some centres to close and leaving civilians to travel long distances for care or go without treatment. Fuel depots and supply routes have also been repeatedly targeted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Drone attacks are expanding beyond Kordofan and Darfur into Blue Nile, White Nile, and Khartoum. A strike on Khartoum International Airport on May 4 disrupted all flights, while additional attacks occurred in Khartoum and Omdurman between April 28 and May 5.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk said the renewed intensity has shattered recent relative calm, raising fears of a full return of hostilities in the capital as civilians had begun to return.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk warned that further escalation in Kordofan increases the risk of retaliatory attacks and large\u2011scale displacement, particularly in El Obeid and Dilling, where siege\u2011like conditions persist.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk said escalating violence threatens humanitarian operations at a time when large parts of Sudan face heightened famine risk and acute food insecurity. T\u00fcrk said the situation is worsened by expected fertiliser shortages linked to the Gulf crisis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk called for robust measures to prevent the transfer of arms, including advanced drones, to the warring parties, warning that impunity risks normalising drone attacks against civilians.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk again urged all parties to protect civilians, ensure safe movement away from hostilities, and prevent reprisals, including summary executions, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, and abductions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34264,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-34263","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Drones accounted for more than 80% of civilian deaths in Sudan during the first four months of 2026, killing at least 880 people, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk said on Monday, warning that escalating drone warfare risks pushing the conflict into an even deadlier phase.","published_date":"","news_description":"","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34265,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/34263\/revisions\/34265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=34263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}