The United Nations has condemned drone attacks that have killed at least 48 civilians in Blue Nile and West Kordofan, including women and children sheltering after fleeing their homes, and called for accountability and respect for international humanitarian law.
The United Nations has condemned a series of deadly drone strikes on displaced civilians in Blue Nile and West Kordofan, warning that people fleeing Sudan’s war are being exposed to further violence in places where they sought safety.
Denise Brown, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said she was “horrified” by reports of a drone strike near a displacement site in Wad El Mahi, Blue Nile State, where at least 31 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed and dozens more injured. Some of the injured are in a serious condition, and the death toll could rise.
The victims had been displaced by recent fighting in Geissan and Kurmuk localities. Brown said the area, which is under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces, had come under attack during the preceding week.
Condemning the killings, Brown called for accountability for what she described as a flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law.
“Those who disregard international humanitarian law need to be held accountable,” she said, stressing that the law protects civilians as well as the humanitarian and medical personnel serving them.
In a separate statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed deep concern over two drone strikes in West Kordofan on 9 October.
At least 12 civilians, including women and children, were reportedly killed and eight injured when a drone struck a building sheltering displaced families in El Nuhud. A second strike in Ghubeish reportedly killed five civilians, including three children, in a residential neighbourhood hosting displaced families.
“These were people who had already been forced from their homes by conflict, only to face further violence in places where they had sought safety,” OCHA said.
The agency warned that the increasing frequency of drone strikes across Sudan was exposing civilians, particularly displaced families, to further death, injury and suffering. It called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Brown said continued attacks in Blue Nile had displaced thousands of civilians in recent weeks, exposing many more to death, direct harm and further hardship. She also criticised the international community for allowing the suffering of Sudan’s population to continue.
The latest attacks follow other deadly drone strikes on civilian areas and displacement shelters across the country, as reported by Radio Dabanga today.
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