Sudanese Drone Strikes Kill Hundreds of Civilians in October

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated their use of unmanned aerial vehicles in October 2026, resulting in a surge of civilian casualties. The UN Human Rights Office documented at least 306 deaths in the first three weeks of the month, with strikes targeting residential neighborhoods, markets, and displaced persons' camps.

Among the deadliest incidents was a strike on Amiet Market in the disputed Abyei region on October 19, which killed at least 153 people. While the SAF claimed the market was an RSF fuel supply site, the government of South Sudan condemned the attack and summoned the Sudanese ambassador. In West Kordofan, strikes in al-Dibab killed approximately 150 people, including 145 mourners traveling to a funeral. Other strikes hit Nyala, Ed Daein, and Khartoum, killing dozens more.

Simultaneously, the SAF repelled a joint ground attack by the RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in the Blue Nile region and intercepted RSF drones near Khartoum International Airport. An investigation by the Centre for Information Resilience identified 21 drone models from Iran, Russia, China, and Turkiye being used in the conflict.

International officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross have condemned the strikes, warning that technology does not exempt combatants from international humanitarian law. This violence coincides with a severe drought, the driest rainy season in over 30 years, which has increased the risk of famine across conflict-affected areas.