Drone Attacks on Sudan Markets Kill Dozens as Air War Civilian Toll Mounts
— African Diaspora Magazine Editorial
Over 200 civilians have been killed by drone strikes in Sudan's Kordofan region and White Nile state since early March 2026. Markets, hospitals, schools, and aid convoys have all been hit as both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces escalate their aerial campaigns.
A Market Became a Graveyard
On 4 March 2026, a drone strike hit a bustling market in Al-Muglad, West Kordofan, killing at least 50 civilians in a single attack that also struck a nearby hospital. Three days later, on 7 March, two more drone strikes targeted the markets of Abu Zabad and Wad Banda — towns just 15 kilometres apart — killing at least 33 more people and wounding 59 others.
A doctor at Abu Zabad hospital, one of the last functioning medical facilities in the area, described the aftermath: two drones struck during peak trading hours when hundreds of civilians were buying food and supplies. "Four of them were my relatives who worked in the market," one resident, Hamad Abdullah, told journalists. He helped bury 20 people that day.
Then on 10 March, a lorry carrying civilians was struck by what witnesses described as a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) drone in Al-Sunut, reportedly killing at least 50 more people — many of them women and children fleeing the fighting.
Over 200 Dead in a Single Week
The scale of the drone carnage prompted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to issue an urgent statement on 12 March 2026, expressing his horror at the "devastating impact on civilians of increasing drone attacks."
According to the OHCHR, more than 200 civilians have been killed by drones since 4 March alone in the Kordofan region and White Nile state. The attacks have destroyed markets, hospitals, schools, and health facilities — the very infrastructure that civilians depend on for survival.
"It is deeply troubling that despite multiple reminders, warnings and appeals, parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas." — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Both Sides Accused of War Crimes
The drone war in Sudan is not one-sided. In West Kordofan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) stand accused of carrying out the devastating market strikes, though military sources deny targeting civilian areas. "The armed forces do not bombard civilian areas. This is a lie with no basis. We only target rebels, their equipment and their weapons depots," a military source told France 24.
Meanwhile, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of drone strikes in other areas, including White Nile state, where RSF drones have hit the state capital Kosti repeatedly since 4 March. A secondary school and health clinic in Shukeiri village were struck on 11 March, killing at least 17 civilians including a health worker. Another RSF drone hit a university dormitory on 9 March, critically injuring seven students.
In South Kordofan, the RSF and allied SPLM-North forces killed at least 39 civilians through heavy artillery shelling of the state capital Dilling between 4 and 5 March.
The War Has Also Reached the Borders
On 12 March, a drone strike hit the Adre border crossing between Sudan and Chad, killing at least 13 civilians according to local volunteers and eyewitnesses. The Coordination Council of El Geneina Emergency Rooms confirmed the attack, which targeted one of the few remaining lifelines for humanitarian aid entering western Sudan.
The strike on a border crossing — a critical humanitarian corridor — raised alarm among aid agencies already struggling to deliver supplies to millions of displaced Sudanese. The UN has described Sudan's crisis as the world's largest displacement and hunger emergency, with more than 11 million people displaced since the war began in April 2023.
The Drone Proliferation Problem
What makes the current escalation particularly alarming is the increasing sophistication and availability of drone technology to both warring factions. Both the SAF and RSF have acquired combat-capable unmanned aerial vehicles from external suppliers, with analysts pointing to deliveries from Iran, Turkey, the UAE, and China as fuelling the aerial arms race.
Unlike precision-guided munitions operated by trained military forces, the drones being used in Sudan are often deployed with minimal targeting intelligence and limited care for civilian proximity. The result is what human rights organisations describe as "indiscriminate attacks" — strikes that kill far more civilians than combatants.
The pattern mirrors what has been seen in Yemen, Libya, and Ethiopia — conflicts where drone proliferation has dramatically increased civilian casualties while making it harder for international monitors to document and attribute attacks.
What the Diaspora Can Do
Sudanese diaspora communities around the world have been mobilising emergency response efforts since the war began. Key actions include:
- Donate to verified emergency funds — The Sudan Emergency Response Rooms, which operate at the community level, are the most direct way to support affected civilians.
- Amplify reporting — Share verified reports from the OHCHR, OCHA, and credible journalists. The conflict receives a fraction of the media attention it deserves.
- Contact elected representatives — Push for arms embargo enforcement and sanctions against entities supplying drones to Sudan's warring parties.
- Support Sudanese journalists — Independent reporting from inside Sudan is extremely dangerous. Support press freedom organisations that help Sudanese media workers continue their work.
Three Years of War, No End in Sight
As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of the war that erupted in April 2023, the civilian toll continues to mount. Tens of thousands have been killed, millions displaced, and entire regions reduced to rubble. The introduction of drones as a primary weapon of war has only accelerated the destruction.
"It will soon be three full years since the senseless conflict in Sudan began, devastating millions of lives and livelihoods. Yet the violence, fueled by these new technologies of war, simply keeps spreading. It is high time it came to an end. The Sudanese people have already suffered far too much," said Türk.
The question the international community must now answer: how many more markets, hospitals, and schools must be destroyed before decisive action is taken?
Drone Attacks on Sudan Markets Kill Dozens as Air War Civilian Toll Mounts