Sudan’s Drone War Deepens Humanitarian Crisis in October 2026

UN human rights officials reported that drone attacks across Sudan in early October 2026 resulted in at least 306 civilian deaths and hundreds of injuries. The strikes, attributed to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, targeted densely populated areas in Kordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile, Khartoum and other states. Individual incidents included a double‑tap attack on a transport truck in Dibab that killed at least 139 people, and a market strike in Abyei that left more than 80 dead. The UN human rights chief warned that drones now account for the majority of conflict‑related civilian fatalities in Sudan this year.

The campaign increasingly hit places where civilians had already fled violence. Between 6 and 10 October, drone strikes on shelters in Ghubeish and El Nuhud killed at least 25 displaced people, many of them women and children. On 9 October, a strike near a gold‑mining camp in Abu Shendi killed at least 31. Hospitals were not spared; an RSF‑linked drone hit Um Darfa hospital on 11 October, injuring two health workers and rendering the facility inoperable. Power stations, water sources and markets were also struck, eroding basic services and prompting further displacement.

The UN Security Council condemned the Abyei market attack in the strongest terms, warning that such assaults on civilians could constitute war crimes and demanding a transparent investigation. UN peacekeepers from the Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) were the first responders, fighting fires and treating more than 27 injured at their Todach hospital. The UN human rights chief urged both parties to respect international humanitarian law, halt attacks on civilians and civilian objects, and pursue a cease‑fire backed by accountability. These statements underscore the urgent need for protection of civilians and aid workers amid the escalating drone warfare.