CAIRO — An intensification of unmanned aerial attacks in Sudan’s Kordofan area has resulted in mounting civilian casualties and disrupted relief efforts, according to experts and aid workers who spoke Wednesday as Sudan’s civil war approaches its third year.
The Sudan Doctors Network, an organization monitoring wartime violence, reports that no fewer than 77 individuals lost their lives with dozens more wounded in multiple assaults, primarily carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces targeting populated neighborhoods. Civilians comprised the majority of casualties.
The battle between the RSF and Sudan’s armed forces escalated into comprehensive warfare in April 2023. The World Health Organization reports that the fighting has claimed at least 40,000 lives and forced 12 million people from their homes. Relief organizations warn the actual casualties may be significantly higher due to combat in remote and expansive territories that prevent access.
According to Jalale Getachew Birru, a senior East Africa analyst with the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), Sudan’s military has expanded its deployment of unmanned aircraft and aerial bombardments in Kordofan during the previous year as hostilities moved westward, transforming the area into “a primary theater of operations.”
Military officials announced two weeks ago that they had ended the RSF’s blockade of Kadugli, South Kordofan’s provincial capital, along with the adjacent town of Dilling following more than two years under siege.
Nevertheless, Birru stated the blockades remain partially intact. “These cities are still encircled, and the fight for the control of these cities and the wider region is ongoing,” he explained to The Associated Press.
Walid Mohamed, a Kadugli resident, informed the AP that ending the blockade enabled increased flow of supplies and medical resources into the city, reopening connections with Dilling and reducing food costs following a severe humanitarian crisis. Nevertheless, he noted that RSF unmanned aircraft attacks have become nearly constant since then, primarily hitting medical facilities, marketplaces and residential areas.
Omran Ahmed, who lives in Dilling, similarly reported increased drone attacks, “spreading fear and terror among residents as they see more civilians become victims.”
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk issued an urgent warning Wednesday that unmanned aircraft strikes claimed more than 50 civilian lives during a two-day period this week.
“These latest killings are yet another reminder of the devastating consequences on civilians of the escalating use of drone warfare in Sudan,” Türk stated, denouncing the attacks on civilian locations including marketplaces, medical centers and educational institutions.
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric indicated evidence shows both warring parties deployed drones against civilians during this week’s violence.
“These civilians have been at one time or another in government-controlled areas and areas controlled by the RSF, which would make us believe that both sides are using them,” he explained.
Two military officials, speaking anonymously because they lacked authorization to address media, informed the AP this week that the army does not deliberately strike civilian infrastructure.
United Nations agencies announced Wednesday that a U.N. convoy successfully delivered aid to more than 130,000 people in Dilling and Kadugli, marking the first significant supply delivery in three months. However, relief workers express alarm about increasing violence.
Mathilde Vu, an advocacy manager with the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the AP there’s “huge concern” about the “unacceptable” escalation in Kordofan and its potential to “shatter lives and obstruct any hope to reverse the famine/ starvation” affecting the region.
“It’s very indiscriminate. Between Kordofan, Darfur and the east (Sennar), it’s now every other day we receive messages like ‘drone attack here, hit a civilian infrastructure, killed people,’” Vu explained.
Kholood Khair, founding director of Confluence Advisory think tank, told the AP that recent Sudan fighting has concentrated in Kordofan, where the military seeks to establish access into the adjacent Darfur region.
El-Fasher city, North Darfur’s capital, served as the army’s final stronghold in the area before falling to the RSF in October. Reclaiming it could enable the military to reestablish crucial supply and logistics connections between Kordofan and Darfur.
Meanwhile, the RSF aims to establish a corridor from Kordofan back toward the country’s center and capital city Khartoum, according to Khair.
Both military forces and the RSF have deployed unmanned aircraft, particularly in North Kordofan, with civilians bearing the brunt of attacks.
ACLED data shows that 163 aerial and drone attacks nationwide targeted civilians last year, resulting in 1,032 deaths. The army allegedly conducted 83 strikes causing 568 fatalities, while the RSF carried out 66 strikes killing 288 people.
Federico Donelli, associate professor of international relations at the University of Trieste, reports that both sides have increased their drone usage in Kordofan during recent weeks.
Donelli explained that multiple factors drive this increase, including the army’s procurement of new weaponry and unmanned aircraft manufactured and provided by foreign entities.
“This has enabled the army to rely more heavily on precision strikes, mirroring tactics that the Rapid Support Forces have been using for some time,” he noted.
Both sides may face challenges maintaining adequate troop numbers, he suggested. “Consequently, drones are favored over deploying armed units on the ground, particularly in contested areas such as Kordofan.”
Khair from Confluence Advisory predicted the Kordofan fighting could change direction in coming periods, with the army potentially attempting to advance into Darfur, especially toward el-Fasher, where authorities have documented war crimes.
“We expect to see the bombing campaigns not only continue but increase in frequency and volume,” she warned.
