The United Nations human rights chief warned on Monday that escalating violence across Sudan, compounded by a growing reliance on armed drones, could cause a sharp rise in civilian deaths and displacement.
Summary - The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, cautioned that unless immediate action is taken, the conflict risks entering an "even deadlier phase." He said armed drones have become the leading cause of civilian fatalities, with drone strikes responsible for 80% of all conflict-related civilian deaths and at least 880 people killed by unmanned aerial vehicles between January and April this year, based on data from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Turk identified the Kordofan area, within Darfur, as where most of those drone-related deaths were recorded. He noted that Darfur - a vast region in western Sudan - has been a focal point of violence in the civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, including instances of ethnically charged killings.
While the conflict has long affected Darfur, Turk said the use of drones by both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces has extended beyond that region. He named Blue Nile, White Nile and Khartoum as additional areas where drone deployment is spreading.
"The international community is on notice that, unless action is taken without delay, this conflict is on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase," Turk said in a statement.
Turk warned that an intensification of hostilities in the coming weeks - as the warring parties attempt to secure or consolidate territory amid shifting conflict dynamics - risks expanding violence into central and eastern states, with lethal consequences for civilians across vast areas.
He also highlighted a tactical shift: drones are allowing combat to continue through the rainy season, a period that previously produced a relative lull in ground operations. Turk urged robust measures to halt the transfer of arms, including advanced armed drones, to the parties engaged in the fighting.
The OHCHR figures cited by Turk show that drone strikes accounted for 80% of conflict-related civilian deaths and that at least 880 people were killed by unmanned aerial vehicles between January and April this year. Most of those casualties were recorded in the Kordofan region, in Darfur.
Turk's statement underscores the changing character of the conflict and the growing humanitarian toll as aerial weaponry becomes more prominent across multiple regions of Sudan.