Deadly drone strikes continue in Sudan’s Kordofan, UN rights chief says

GENEVA —Deadly drone strikes on civilians continue in Sudan’s central Kordofan central region, which became the latest frontline in the African nation’s nearly three-year conflict, even after the army breached sieges on cities held by the RSF paramilitary forces, the United Nations said on Monday.Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk painted a grim picture of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has plunged the country into widespread bloodshed and humanitarian catastrophe.“We can only expect worse to come” unless decisive steps are taken by the international community to stop the fighting, Turk said, emphasizing that inaction would lead to even greater horrors.Turk also highlighted harrowing survivor testimonies from el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which fell to RSF forces in October following an 18-month siege. He described accounts of atrocity crimes committed by the paramilitary after it overran the city, including mass killings and other grave violations targeting civilians.“Responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies squarely with the [RSF] and their allies and supporters,” he said.Sudan’s army says it ended the RSF’s siege of al-Dalanj in late January and Kadugli in early February. Residents of both cities had faced hunger and medical shortages as supplies were blocked.“In the last two weeks, the SAF and allied Joint Forces broke the sieges on Kadugli and Dilling,” Turk said. “But drone strikes by both sides continue, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries.”Turk’s office has documented more than 90 civilian deaths and 142 injuries caused by drone strikes carried ⁠out by both the RSF and the armed forces from late January to February 6, he said.Among those incidents were three strikes on health facilities in South Kordofan that killed 31 people last week, according to the World Health Organization.On February 7, a drone attack carried out by the RSF hit a vehicle transporting displaced families in central Sudan, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, the Sudan Doctors Network said.The latest attacks follow a series of drone attacks on humanitarian aid convoys and fuel trucks across North Kordofan.The UN human rights chief said he has witnessed the destruction caused by RSF attacks on Sudan’s Merowe Dam and its hydroelectric power station.“Repeated drone strikes have disrupted power and water supplies to huge numbers of people, with a serious impact on healthcare,” he said. — Agencies