The United Nations decried drone attacks in Blue Nile and West Kordofan that killed at least 48 civilians, including women and children, and called for accountability.
The United Nations has condemned drone attacks that killed at least 48 civilians in Sudan's Blue Nile and West Kordofan states. In Blue Nile's Wad El Mahi, 31 civilians, mostly women and children, died in a strike near a displacement site, with dozens more injured. These victims had fled fighting in Geissan and Kurmuk localities. The UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, called for accountability for the "flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law."
In West Kordofan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported two drone strikes on October 9. In El Nuhud, 12 civilians, including women and children, were killed and eight injured when a drone hit a building sheltering displaced families. A second strike in Ghubeish killed five civilians, including three children, in a neighborhood hosting displaced families. OCHA warned that increasing drone strikes expose civilians to further death and suffering.
Separately, a drone strike on a livestock market in Nyala, South Darfur State, killed 39 people and injured 43. Health officials stated the attack, attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces, was intended to maximize casualties. The South Darfur Chamber of Commerce condemned the attack on the market, a vital economic center, as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Why it mattersDisplaced civilians and market shoppers in Blue Nile, West Kordofan, and South Darfur are directly harmed by drone strikes, facing death and injury.
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