Sudan civil war enters 'deadlier' phase due to use of drones, says UN

A market in Omdurman, outside of Khartoum, 26 April 2026. Markets have been repeated targets of drone attacks that have increasingly been claiming the lives of civilians in the ongoing conflict between the army and the RSF. © Bernat Armangue/AP

At least 880 civilians were killed in drone strikes in Sudan between January and April this year, according to the United Nations human rights office, which warns that the increased use of drones risks intensifying violence in the ongoing conflict.

Drone strikes in Sudan "accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths – more than 80 percent of all conflict-related civilian deaths" in the first four months of this year, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).