(Adnkronos) – Drone attacks carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are hitting civilian areas and essential infrastructure, including schools, markets, health facilities, and water sources, across Sudan. In the first 2 weeks of February, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams treated 167 patients with penetrating chest and abdominal wounds, multiple limb fractures, head injuries, and drone shrapnel. MSF warns that these types of attacks put civilians and humanitarian workers at severe risk, and calls for their immediate protection.
On February 15, an MSF team in Adré, eastern Chad, provided assistance to 18 civilians, including 4 women and 3 children, wounded during a SAF drone attack on a fuel market just across the border in Adikong, West Darfur state. On February 6, 29 wounded people were admitted to the MSF-supported hospital in Tine, also in eastern Chad, following 2 RSF drone attacks in western Sudan that caused the death of at least 10 people, 4 of whom died in the hospital. Since that date, patients continue to arrive frequently due to the attacks.
“Among the patients we admitted, there was a 9-year-old child with a severe shrapnel injury to the eye, extensive facial fractures, and 2 amputated fingers. He was in severe pain after the long journey to reach the facility and had been exposed to dust. Even with optimal care, he risks remaining disabled. He was transferred to N’Djamena for further treatment,” says Virginia Moneti, MSF medical coordinator in Tine. Our teams in Zalingei, Central Darfur, also treated 29 patients this month following several attacks, including at least 8 civilians.
Following drone attacks on November 3 in North Darfur, MSF was forced to withdraw from Kornoi and Tina, interrupting essential medical and humanitarian services. These attacks made it impossible for MSF to maintain a safe presence, leaving people without essential care. “The war in Sudan is being fought with drones beyond the front lines. Our teams regularly treat a large number of wounded caused by drones, including women and children. These attacks are used to disrupt supply lines, damage civilian infrastructure, and risk creating siege conditions in contested areas,” says Esperanza Santos, MSF Emergency Coordinator.
In North Kordofan, where MSF recently launched an emergency response in El Obeid, drone attacks reportedly hit a humanitarian convoy, a vehicle transporting displaced people, and a bus station on February 6-7. Reportedly, in the first 2 weeks of February, drone attacks also hit various health facilities in Kadugli and Dilling, in South Kordofan state. “Recent incidents reveal a disturbing pattern in the conduct of the war in Sudan. Drone attacks are not limited to military targets; sometimes there are multiple consecutive attacks on the same location, and the damage is devastating: civilians, including children, are killed or seriously injured in blatant violation of international humanitarian law,” adds Santos. “Armed actors must take immediate measures to protect civilians and humanitarian workers. Civilians must always be protected.”
MSF is deeply alarmed by this situation. When civilian areas and humanitarian infrastructure are not respected, our teams cannot operate safely, leaving communities without essential care. This is the exact opposite of what the Sudanese population urgently needs, as humanitarian needs are immense and an immediate increase in aid is crucial.
