Executive Summary
On May 11th 2026, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) warned that Sudan’s war risks entering an even deadlier phase as both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) increasingly use armed drones. OHCHR attributed at least 880 civilian deaths to drone strikes between January and April 2026, which are more than 80 percent of documented conflict-related civilian deaths in that period. Drones are changing civilian exposure by enabling hostilities through the rainy season, widening the battlefield, and repeatedly endangering markets, hospitals, fuel stores and supply routes.
Key Figures & Facts
- Drone strikes were the leading documented cause of civilian deaths in Sudan’s war.
- OHCHR had already recorded more than 500 such deaths by March 15th 2026, mostly in Kordofan.
- At least 28 market attacks and 12 health-facility strikes caused civilian harm or service disruption during the first quarter of 2026.
- UNICEF reported 245 child casualties in the first 90 days of 2026: 160 children killed, 85 maimed and 78 per cent of reported child casualties caused by drone attacks.
- The wider crisis is severe: 33.7 million people, including 17.3 million children, require life-saving support; 9.5 million people have been displaced and more than 21 million face acute food insecurity.
Background & Context
Sudan’s war began in April 2023 as a power struggle between the SAF and RSF, but by 2026, its humanitarian effects were no longer confined to front-line combat. Drone warfare extends violence into civilian systems people depend on, such as transport, energy, water, health care, education and markets. OHCHR’s March briefing cited an air and drone strike on El Daein Teaching Hospital that killed at least 64 people and shut emergency, maternity and paediatric units; attacks in Ad Dabbah that damaged an electricity substation and an engineering college; a strike on a commercial transport convoy in East Darfur and a drone attack in Tine, Chad. In Darfur, UNICEF links the crisis around Al Fasher to displacement, hunger, and damage to schools and health services. A UN fact-finding mission separately places explosive weapons and drones within the wider pattern of violence affecting civilians.
Current Status & Trends
Three trends stand out. First, the geography of drone use is expanding. OHCHR reports that attacks by both parties have spread beyond Kordofan and Darfur to Blue Nile, White Nile and Khartoum. A recent strike disrupted flights at Khartoum International Airport, and further attacks affected Khartoum and Omdurman. This threatens areas where civilians had begun to return and may drive further displacement from contested towns. Second, civilian infrastructure is repeatedly exposed. Markets and clinics are among the most visible sites of attacks. Strikes on fuel stores and supply routes also undermine access to food, clean water and health care. Third, legal accountability remains central. Drones are not unlawful as a weapon category, but international humanitarian law still requires distinction, proportionality and feasible precautions. Physical distance from the battlefield does not remove operator or command responsibility.
Comparative evidence reinforces this protection risk. A study on Yemen found that drone strikes increased civilian mobility away from affected areas and produced durable displacement effects, even when no civilian deaths were recorded. In Tigray, 1,143 casualties were documented from 80 drone and aerial bombardment incidents, with nearly a third being children and nearly half being women, mainly in civilian areas.
The escalation of drone usage in Sudan is changing the geography, tempo and humanitarian consequences of the war. The central concern is civilian exposure: whether protection systems, humanitarian access and legal accountability can keep pace with normalized strikes on civilian life.
Sources
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/05/turk-issues-high-alert-widening-sudan-conflict-amid-increased-use-drones
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2026/03/sudan-sharp-increase-civilian-deaths-result-growing-drone-warfare
- https://www.unicef.org/sudan/press-releases/least-245-child-casualties-sudan-first-90-days-2026
- https://www.unicef.org/sudan/press-releases/twenty-years-after-global-outcry-children-darfur-face-deeper-crisis-and-far-less
- https://www.unicef.org/media/177086/file/2026-HAC-Sudan.pdf
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc6177-sudan-hallmarks-genocide-el-fasher-report-independent
- https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/sanctions/1591/panel-of-experts/reports
- https://www.icrc.org/en/article/faq-international-humanitarian-law-drones-armed-conflict
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/estimating-the-impact-of-drone-strikes-on-civilians-using-call-detail-records/0754DC2E54F50C617DF5DDEBD38B3E41
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12963-025-00373-1