Drone attacks wreak death, injury among South Kordofan civilians

Drone attacks attributable to both sides in the Sudan conflict have wreaked death and injury among civilians in South Kordofan, including women and children, as intensified fighting in has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

A drone, allegedly launched by the Rapid Support Forces and the Popular Movement led by Abdelaziz a El Hilu, that targeted the Fathelrahman neighbourhood in Dilling in South Kordofan, resulted in the deaths of injury of a number of civilians with varying wounds, in “a deliberate attack that targeted residential neighbourhoods and civilian facilities in a clear violation of all international calls to stop targeting civilians”.

The Sudanese Doctors Network condemned this “deliberate targeting” of civilians, and held the Rapid Support Forces and the Popular Movement fully responsible for this crime. It also condemned the continuation of what it called violations against unarmed civilians and the use of suicide drones in populated areas, in clear violation of international humanitarian law and the principles of protecting civilians.

The network called on the international community, the United Nations and human rights organizations to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, and to urgently pressure the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces and the Popular Movement to lift the siege on Dilling, to immediately stop targeting civilians, to ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and to hold those responsible for these violations accountable in order to achieve justice and prevent impunity.

The Rapid Support Forces announced on Saturday that they shot down a Turkish-made Bayraktar drone in the El Furshaya area of Dilling in South Kordofan.

The Rapid Support Forces said in a statement seen by Radio Dabanga that they shot down the drone while it was trying to target civilians, as part of a series of attacks carried out by the army that have killed dozens of civilians this month.

This is the 10^th drone that the Rapid Support Forces claim to have shot down in recent months.

The Emergency Lawyers Group condemned the targeting by an SAF drone on Friday afternoon, January 23, of the market in the Abu Zaima area of North Kordofan, which resulted in the death of five civilians and injuries to 30 others, including women and children.

The group said in a statement seen by Radio Dabanga that the injured were taken to El Dabba for treatment.

The Emergency Lawyers Group condemned this targeting of a market and a civilian site, and stressed that targeting markets and civilian areas constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime, as it represents a breach of the principles of distinction and proportionality.

The group stressed that protecting civilians is a legal obligation and demanded an immediate halt to drone attacks on civilian sites, respect for the principle of military necessity, strict adherence to the rules of international humanitarian law, and guaranteeing the right of victims and their families to justice and reparation.

Mass displacement

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, Intensified fighting in North Kordofan has forced thousands of people to flee their homes as human rights groups warn of “scorched earth” tactics against civilians.

Local leaders and human rights activists accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of committing violence against civilians in North Kordofan over the past week. Between January 15 and 17, a series of coordinated attacks reportedly targeted over a dozen villages in the area, with activists describing these operations as a “scorched earth policy” involving arbitrary detentions and the burning of civilian settlements.