CAIRO — Drone attacks have surged in Sudan’s Kordofan region as Sudan’s war approaches its three-year mark, causing increasing civilian casualties and hampering aid operations, analysts and humanitarian workers said on Wednesday.
At least 77 people were killed and dozens injured in multiple attacks in densely populated areas, mostly by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, a group that tracked violence during the war. Many of the victims are civilians.
conflict Between Doctors Without Borders and the Sudanese Military Total war broke out in April 2023. According to the World Health Organization, at least 40,000 people have been killed so far and 12 million have been displaced. Aid groups say the true death toll is likely many times higher as fighting hampers access to vast remote areas.
Jalale Getachew Birru, senior East Africa analyst at ACLED, a nonprofit armed conflict location and incident data organization, said the military has increased the use of drones and airstrikes in Kordofan over the past year as the conflict has moved westward, turning the region into a “major war zone.”
Two weeks ago, the military said MSF troops had broken the siege of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan province, and the neighboring town of Dirin after more than two years.
However, Biru said the siege has not yet been completely lifted. “These cities remain under siege and the fight for control of these cities and the wider region continues,” he told The Associated Press.
Walid Mohamed, a resident of Kadugli, told MailOnline the lifting of the siege had allowed more goods and medicines to enter the city, reopened corridors with Deering and pushed down food prices. There is a dire humanitarian situation there. However, he said there have been almost daily drone attacks by Médecins Sans Frontières since then, mainly targeting hospitals, markets and homes.
Deering resident Omran Ahmed also said there has been an increase in drone attacks, “which spreads fear and terror among residents as they see more civilians becoming victims.”
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk sounded the alarm on Wednesday about drone attacks Resulting in the death of more than 50 civilians That’s more than two days this week.
“These recent killings are yet another reminder of the devastating consequences of Sudan’s escalating use of drone warfare on civilians,” Türk said, condemning attacks on civilian sites such as markets, medical facilities and schools.
U.N. spokesman Stefan Dujarric said there was evidence both sides used drones to target civilians in attacks this week.
“The presence of these civilians at one time in government-controlled areas and Médecins Sans Frontières-controlled areas leads us to believe that they are being used by both parties,” he said.
Two military officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. tell this week The military does not target civilian infrastructure.
A U.N. convoy arrived in Dirin and Kadugli to provide aid to more than 130,000 people, the U.N. agency said on Wednesday, the first major aid in three months. However, aid workers are concerned about the escalation of violence.
Mathilde Vu, communications manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said there was “very concern” about an “unacceptable” escalation in Kordofan, which could “destroy people’s lives and hinder any hope of turning the situation around”. famine/hunger in the area”.
“It’s very indiscriminate. Between Kordofan, Darfur and the east, now every other day we get messages like ‘drone attacks here, hitting civilian infrastructure, causing casualties,'” Vu said.
Kholood Khair, founding director of the think tank Confluence Advisory, told the Wall Street Journal that much of the recent fighting in Sudan has focused on Kordofan, where the army hopes to carve out a route into neighboring Darfur.
The city of Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, was the last stronghold of government forces in the region but fell to Doctors Without Borders in October. Retaking it would allow the military to restore vital supply and logistics lines between Kordofan and Darfur.
Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières hopes to open a route from Kordofan back to the center of the country and the capital Khartoum, Kyle said.
Both the military and Doctors Without Borders have used drones, particularly in North Kordofan. Civilians were hit hard.
According to ACLED, there were 163 airstrikes and drone strikes targeting civilians across the country last year, killing 1,032 people. The army reportedly carried out 83 attacks, killing 568 people, while Doctors Without Borders carried out 66 attacks, killing 288 people.
Federico Donelli, associate professor of international relations at the University of Trieste, said both sides had stepped up their use of drones in Kordofan in the past few weeks.
Donelli said several factors were driving the growth, including the military’s purchase of new foreign-made and supplied weapons and drones.
“This allows the military to rely more heavily on precision strikes, similar to tactics that the Rapid Support Forces have been using for some time,” he said.
He said both sides were likely trying to maintain force strength. “Therefore, drones are preferred over deploying armed forces on the ground, especially in contested areas such as Kordofan.”
Confluence Advisory’s Kyle said the fighting in Kordofan was likely to change in the coming period, with the military likely seeking to advance into Darfur, particularly towards El Fasher. Where war crimes have been reported.
“We expect bombing campaigns not only to continue but to increase in frequency and volume,” she said.
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Associated Press freelance writer Yasir Abdalla contributed to this report in Khartoum.
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.
