Thirteen civilians were killed in a drone attack attributed to rebels in Sudan, where a four-year civil war between government forces and insurgents continues. As drones become a primary weapon system not only in international conflicts like the Ukraine and Iran wars but also in civil wars, concerns are growing over a worsening humanitarian disaster due to exponentially increasing casualties.
◇8 out of 10 civilians killed by drones
According to foreign media including the Sudan Tribune, a drone suspected to have been launched by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a rebel paramilitary group, exploded near a courthouse in Um Rawaba, a central city controlled by Sudan’s government forces, on the 8th (local time), killing 13 civilians and injuring 22. The attack occurred during a busy time when citizens were crowded in the streets, exacerbating the damage. The Sudan Doctors Network posted on Facebook, “We strongly condemn the attack on civilian facilities and buildings,” and urged, “The international community must pressure the RSF leadership to hold them fully accountable for the ‘Um Rawaba massacre.’”
As clashes between government forces and the RSF intensify across Sudan, including the capital Khartoum with a population of 1.97 million, civilian casualties are surging. In September 2023, five months after the war began, a drone suspected to belong to government forces attacked a market in southern Khartoum, killing 47 people. In January last year, a drone identified as RSF-affiliated bombed a hospital in Darfur, western Sudan, killing approximately 70. The RSF attacked a mosque in North Darfur in September of the same year with a drone, resulting in 75 civilian deaths. The RSF also attempted to assassinate Abdel Fata Alburhan, the government’s commander-in-chief, using a drone in July 2024, but the attempt failed.
According to a report published in March last year by the British think tank Drone Wars, government forces were found to be operating the Mohajer-6, a multipurpose drone manufactured by Iran’s Quds Air Industry, and the Zaal-3, a locally produced Iranian drone in Sudan, immediately after the war began. The Mohajer-6 is a long-range strike drone capable of flying up to 2,000 km to bomb targets. The RSF, in response, has imported drones from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and modified them into 120 mm mortar bomb delivery platforms. They are reportedly strengthening their drone warfare capabilities by deploying an increasing number of suicide drones to a base in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. In the past, both sides used pickup trucks mounted with AK-47 rifles and machine guns to indiscriminately attack battlefields, but now they are employing drones to minimize their own casualties while maximizing enemy fatalities.
As the drone warfare between the two sides prolongs, the proportion of civilian deaths caused by drones has also risen. Tom Fletcher, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, stated at a Security Council meeting on the 24th of last month, “Of the 1,400 people killed in Sudan’s civil war in the first half of this year, over 1,100 died from drone attacks.” This means that more than 79% of civilian deaths were caused by drones. Similar concerns were raised in international conflicts like the Ukraine and Iran wars, where low-cost suicide drones priced at 53 million Korean won were deployed en masse, maximizing damage. In this regard, a UN investigation team criticized, “Both sides have seriously violated international humanitarian and human rights law in their use of drones in the war, and some acts constitute war crimes.”
Some argue that neighboring countries are fueling the prolongation of the civil war by supplying drones to either government forces or the RSF. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan pointed out in a report released on the 3rd, “Up to 2,000 Colombian mercenaries are supporting the RSF by providing advanced weapons and drone systems.” The Soufan Center, a non-profit think tank based in New York, stated, “The UAE is known to have supplied Chinese-made drones, but the UAE denies this.”
◇Worst disaster… 14 million displaced
As clashes between government forces and rebels intensify with new weapons like drones, Sudan is facing a humanitarian crisis unprecedented in modern history. Sudan, which gained independence from British colonial rule in 1956, has experienced frequent civil wars and turmoil. After the 2019 coup that ousted the dictatorship, a power struggle between Alburhan, a military strongman, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF commander, escalated into armed conflict in April 2023, prolonging the civil war for over four years. The cumulative death toll from the clashes is known to be at least 59,000, and including indirect causes like disease and starvation, the total is estimated to exceed 200,000.
The number of displaced people due to the civil war is reported to be up to 14 million. UNICEF analyzed in a report released earlier this month, “33.7 million people, or 63% of Sudan’s total population, require humanitarian aid.” In particular, with large-scale civilian casualties and sexual crimes against women, calls for international intervention are growing. Although Western countries like the U.S., UK, and EU have attempted mediation between government forces and the RSF multiple times, no tangible results have been achieved. Amnesty International, the world’s largest private international human rights organization, pointed out, “Amid international indifference, Sudan is falling into an uncontrollable vortex of violence and suffering.”
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