Drone warfare has emerged as the deadliest threat to civilians in Sudan's ongoing conflict, with experts revealing that both the national military and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are being supplied by various countries in the Middle East and beyond.
Unprecedented Civilian Toll
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk stated this week that armed drones have become the leading cause of civilian deaths, accounting for over 80% of conflict-related fatalities. Between January and April alone, drones killed at least 880 civilians. The war, which began in April 2023, has resulted in at least 59,000 deaths, displaced approximately 13 million people, and pushed parts of the country into famine.
In recent weeks, the RSF has conducted drone attacks on Khartoum International Airport and other areas near the capital, which the army seized control of last year. Analysts warn that foreign-supplied advanced drone technology enables both parties to expand strikes on densely populated areas, complicating peace efforts and raising fears of a broader proxy conflict.
Drones as Force Multipliers
According to Jalale Getachew Birru, East Africa senior analyst at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), drones have become a force multiplier on the battlefield, enabling ground offensives and weakening enemy defenses. Both the army and RSF use drones to secure contested territory, disrupt mobilization efforts, and spread insecurity in areas controlled by their rivals.
ACLED found that at least 2,670 people, including combatants and civilians, were killed in 2025, marking a 600% increase in drone-related deaths and an 81% increase in drone attacks compared to the previous year. Drone strikes have targeted civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, dams, schools, markets, and displacement camps.
Regional Impact
Most civilian deaths from drone attacks have occurred in the Kordofan region in central Sudan, according to Turk. On May 8, drone strikes in South Kordofan and near the city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan reportedly killed 26 civilians. Earlier this year, more than 70 people were killed in drone attacks on densely populated areas in Kordofan, as reported by the Sudan Doctors Network.
On Tuesday, the Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers stated that nine drone attacks on civilian vehicles had killed at least 36 people over the past 10 days across seven provinces. The group blamed both the army and RSF, noting that some drones use visual monitoring technology capable of distinguishing targets, raising concerns that the attacks may not have been indiscriminate.
Foreign Involvement and Escalation
The RSF began using drones widely only last year, said Gabriella Tejeda, research associate at The Soufan Center. Both sides are competing to obtain new drone models, particularly from China, but the RSF is modifying drones and increasingly seeking newer, more sophisticated models, with the UAE likely supplying them. The United Arab Emirates has denied supplying drones to the RSF.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, stated that the RSF is backed by external technology, particularly from the UAE, with satellite imagery showing its use of Chinese-made CH-95 and FH-95 drones, roughly the size of small aircraft. In areas such as el-Fasher city in North Darfur, where at least 6,000 people were killed over three days last year, RSF drones shut down communications of civilians crying for help and targeted them where a signal was detected. Raymond asserted that the RSF could not have seized the city without these capabilities.
He described the sophistication of drone use in el-Fasher as unique, representing a layered, hunter-killer concept of operations to kill people trapped inside a kill box or wall, preventing them from crying for help. UN experts said the violence indicated hallmarks of genocide.
Army Drone Strikes on Civilian Infrastructure
The army's drone technology has been blamed for striking civilian infrastructure such as Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, where at least 64 people were killed. The army officially denied responsibility, though two military officials at the time said the intended target was a nearby police station. Raymond noted an alarming increase in army drone strikes on protected infrastructure like schools and markets in the past four to six months, while the army maintains it does not target civilian infrastructure.
Last month, ACLED reported that the army's drone technology is supplied by Turkey, Russia, Iran, and Egypt, while the RSF is supplied via networks linked to the UAE through regional transit points including Ethiopia, Chad, and Libya. Earlier this month, the Sudanese government accused neighboring Ethiopia of being behind recent drone attacks on sites including Khartoum airport, and accused the UAE of supplying the drones. Both countries denied the allegations.
Tejeda noted that Ethiopia is a central partner to the UAE, so the allegations are not unfounded and reflect an attempt by the UAE to influence the outcome of the war. Cross-border drone activity may have contributed to rising civilian deaths, but Birru and Raymond said that is difficult to confirm.
With both warring parties increasing their battle tempo and their backers actively investing in the war, it is clear that neither side is interested in a resolution, Tejeda concluded.
