The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Türk, has strongly condemned an escalation in drone strikes across Sudan this month, which killed at least 306 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October alone. The warning was issued on 23 October and reflects a sharp rise in civilian harm from aerial attacks.

Where the strikes fell

The UN Human Rights Office said alleged Rapid Support Forces drones struck a crowd of displaced people engaged in artisanal gold mining near a displacement site in Abu Shendi in Blue Nile on 9 October, killing at least 31 people, most of them women and children. It also reported strikes on the Bajaun gold mining area in South Kordofan on 9 and 16 October, killing 42 civilians and injuring 25 others. On 18 October, at least 139 people were killed when a transport truck was hit in a double-tap repeat strike in Dibab, West Kordofan, an area controlled by the RSF.

Markets and hospitals hit

Markets in Al Dabba in North Darfur, Nyala in South Darfur and Al-Idea in West Kordofan were also struck, reportedly killing 23 civilians in total. A strike attributed to the RSF on Um Darfa hospital in Blue Nile on 11 October seriously injured two health workers and rendered the facility non-operational. The Red Cross separately warned that residential areas and shelters for displaced people had been particularly affected.

Call for a ceasefire

Mr Türk called on both parties and their affiliates to commit to a ceasefire and to respect international humanitarian law. He said peace efforts must address arms transfers fuelling the conflict. The UN said a negotiated settlement was the only feasible path to sustainable peace.