UN Reports More Than 1,000 Civilian Deaths From Drone Strikes in Sudan in Early 2026
The United Nations documented a sharp rise in drone attacks during the ongoing civil war. More than 1,000 civilian deaths were recorded between January and May.
Al JazeeraMore than 1,000 civilians were killed in drone strikes in Sudan between January and May 2026. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday that his office documented the deaths and recorded a sharp increase in drone attacks during the same period. Türk stated that rape and sexual violence remain rampant across the country.
The Sudanese civil war began on April 15, 2023, when fighting broke out in Khartoum between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Both sides have launched explosive-laden drones targeting civilian infrastructure including hospitals, dams, schools, markets, and displacement camps.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project recorded at least 59,000 deaths over the first three years of the conflict.
The group stated the actual toll is almost certainly higher because of reporting difficulties. At least 2,670 people, including combatants and civilians, were killed in 2025. Drone-related deaths in Sudan increased by 600 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, while drone attacks rose by 81 percent over the same period.
A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces last week killed at least 15 people after hitting a cemetery and a gas station in the central city of el-Obeid, health officials said at the time. "In Sudan, the horrific conflict has expanded and escalated, marked by a sharp increase in the use of drone warfare," Türk told the Human Rights Council.
