Over 1,000 Civilians Killed by Drone Strikes in Sudan in First Five Months of 2026

The United Nations human rights office has documented a devastating surge in civilian casualties from drone warfare in Sudan. In the first five months of 2026 alone, more than 1,000 civilians were killed by drone strikes . This alarming figure represents a dramatic escalation in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, which the UN now identifies as the leading cause of civilian death in a brutal conflict now entering its fourth year .

Drones Become the Leading Cause of Civilian Death

Between January and May 2026, the UN verified over 1,000 civilian fatalities directly attributed to drone attacks . The impact was even more stark in the first four months of the year, when armed drones were responsible for more than 80% of all documented civilian deaths in the conflict, killing at least 880 people .

The vast majority of these strikes have been carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), though both sides have deployed drones . The Kordofan region has been particularly hard hit; by mid-March, more than 500 civilians had already been killed by drone strikes since the start of the year, mostly in Kordofan .

High Commissioner Condemns Escalating Drone Warfare

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has repeatedly and forcefully condemned the rising use of armed drones. In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, he warned that the escalating drone warfare could push the conflict into an "even deadlier phase" .

"Armed drones have now become by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths in Sudan's war," Türk stated . His office emphasized that attacks striking civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure "may amount to war crimes" . The High Commissioner called on all warring parties to take urgent steps to protect civilians, noting his alarm at the "devastating consequences on civilians of the escalating use of drone warfare in Sudan" .

June 10 Attacks on El-Obeid

The strategic city of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, has endured repeated and deadly drone strikes throughout 2026. On June 10, a series of attacks attributed to the RSF killed at least 23 civilians and wounded 19 others, according to local volunteer group Sudanese Emergency Lawyers .

The strikes hit multiple locations within the city, starting with a neighborhood in the city center on Wednesday evening . Health officials at El-Obeid Hospital reported that at least 15 people were killed and more than 10 others injured, with casualties expected to rise as rescue efforts continued .

This attack was not an isolated incident. Throughout May and June, El-Obeid and the surrounding region have been hit repeatedly:

• On January 6, a drone strike on a family home in El-Obeid killed at least 10 civilians, including seven children .
• In April, at least seven people were killed and 22 wounded in an RSF drone attack on the city .
• On June 8, just two days before the larger attack, 15 civilians were killed in a series of drone strikes on villages and a market in North Kordofan .

A Conflict with No End in Sight

The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary RSF erupted on April 15, 2023 . By mid-2026, the conflict had expanded across multiple front lines, with drone warfare becoming the dominant weapon causing civilian casualties . UN officials described the conflict as having "broadened and intensified" with no end in sight .

The conflict has created one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes. Over 14 million people have been displaced since the fighting began, including approximately 9 million internally displaced persons and more than 4 million refugees who have fled to neighboring countries like Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt . Nearly 34 million people—roughly 65% of Sudan's entire population—are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance .

The situation in the Kordofan region, where El-Obeid is located, remains dire. The fighting has triggered constant waves of displacement. Between October 2025 and January 2026, North Kordofan recorded an influx of more than 22,000 newly displaced people, while South Kordofan registered nearly 11,000 .

Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War

Beyond the drone strikes, UN human rights investigators report that sexual and gender-based violence has become a calculated tactic of warfare in Sudan, particularly in Darfur . A December 2025 report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented mass sexual violence during an RSF offensive on the Zamzam Internally Displaced Persons camp in April 2025 .

The report found that at least 104 survivors—including 75 women, 26 girls, and three boys—were subjected to gang rape, sexual enslavement, and other forms of abuse over just three days. Most victims belonged to the Zaghawa ethnic group, highlighting the ethnic dimensions of the violence .

UN officials have repeatedly warned the Security Council that the risk of further mass atrocities, including systematic sexual violence, remains critically high . Human rights organizations have documented these violations as "particularly widespread and systematic," reflecting what they describe as an organized and recurrent modus operandi by the RSF .