Sudan drone strikes killed at least 880 civilians between January and April: UN

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 11, 2026 05:30 pm IST - GENEVA U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Volker Turk | Photo Credit: AP At least 880 civilians were killed in drone strikes in Sudan between January and April this year, the UN rights office said on Monday (May 11, 2026), warning such strikes were pushing the conflict towards a "new, even deadlier phase". Drone attacks by both Sudan's Army and Paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war since April 2023, have intensified across the country in recent months. "Armed drones have now become by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in the statement. A growing use of drones allows fighting to continue "unabated" in the rainy season, which in the past has seen a lull, he said. "An intensification of hostilities in the coming weeks risks hostilities expanding even further to central and eastern states, with lethal consequences for civilians across enormous areas," he said. More than three years of civil war in Sudan have already killed tens of thousands, displaced over 11 million and thrust several areas into famine. But now, Mr. Turk warned that "unless action is taken without delay, this conflict is on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase". Most of the civilian deaths attributed to drone strikes in the first three months of the year were recorded in the Kordofan region and Darfur. Those strikes have continued, with most recently on May 8, 2026, drones striking Al Quoz in South Kordofan and near El-Obeid in North Kordofan, reportedly killing 26 civilians and injuring others, the rights office said. It said belligerents had used drones to repeatedly strike civilian objects and infrastructure, "diminishing access to sufficient food, clean water and health care". Markets have been repeatedly targeted, with at least 28 such attacks resulting in civilian casualties in the first four months of the year. Health facilities have been hit at least 12 times, it added. Now, the rights office said, drone strikes by the RSF and the Sudanese Army were increasingly spreading beyond Kordofan and Darfur, to Blue Nile, White Nile and Khartoum. Mr. Turk warned that heightened violence would disrupt provision of critical humanitarian assistance. "Much of the country, including Kordofan, is now facing an increased risk of famine and acute food insecurity," he said, adding that the situation was being exacerbated by fertiliser shortages linked to the West Asia war. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Sudan drone strikes killed at least 880 civilians between January and April: UN

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Sudan drone strikes killed at least 880 civilians between January and April: UN

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