UN Warns Sudan Conflict Escalating as Drone Strikes Kill Civilians, Regional Risks Grow

UN Warns Sudan Conflict Escalating as Drone Strikes Kill Civilians, Regional Risks Grow

By: ATN News Team

UNHQ, New York: The United Nations warned Monday that Sudan’s war has entered a more dangerous phase, marked by intensified fighting, mass civilian casualties from drone strikes, and growing risks of regional spillover, as the United Nations Security Council convened to assess a conflict nearing its 1,000th day.

Briefing the Council, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said renewed violence during the dry season has confirmed fears of escalating attacks on civilians, particularly in the Kordofan region, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have made significant territorial gains.

“Each passing day brings staggering levels of violence and destruction,” Khiari told Council members, describing civilian suffering as “immense,” with no end in sight.

Kordofan Flashpoint, Oil Infrastructure at Risk

The fighting has increasingly centered on West and South Kordofan. UN officials said RSF forces captured Babanusa on Dec. 1 and Heglig on Dec. 8—an oil field and processing hub critical for South Sudanese crude exports routed through Port Sudan. Kadugli and Dilling are now under tightening siege conditions.

Movements of armed forces across the Sudan–South Sudan border have been reported in both directions, including South Sudanese forces entering Sudan to protect oil infrastructure—developments Khiari warned could destabilize both countries if left unaddressed.

Drone Strikes and Peacekeeper Deaths

One of the most alarming trends raised before the Council was the growing use of indiscriminate drone strikes by both parties.

Khiari cited a Dec. 4 attack in Kalogi, South Kordofan, in which drones struck a kindergarten and later a hospital treating victims of the initial strike, killing more than 100 people, including at least 63 children.

On Dec. 13, drone attacks targeted a UN logistics base in Kadugli used by the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism, killing six Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and injuring nine others. UNISFA has launched an investigation and evacuated personnel from Kadugli due to security concerns.

Attacks targeting UN peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law, Khiari said, stressing that their safety “is non-negotiable.”

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

Also briefing the Council, OCHA crisis response chief Edem Wosornu warned that civilian deaths, displacement, and humanitarian needs are expanding rapidly.

She reported more than 1,000 civilians killed by drone strikes in South Kordofan between Dec. 4 and 16 alone, with similarly dire conditions in North Kordofan and across Darfur, where markets have collapsed and basic services have disappeared.

“We do not feel safe,” Wosornu told Council members, calling for clearer security guarantees for humanitarian workers and renewed efforts to halt the fighting and arms flows.

Competing Narratives in the Council Chamber

Speaking for Russia, Moscow’s representative rejected external pressure on Sudan and cautioned against what he described as imposed political prescriptions.

“The legitimacy of Sudan’s current Government should not be questioned,” the Russian envoy said, urging the Council to support Khartoum’s reform roadmap and warning that humanitarian efforts conducted outside state structures risk undermining coordination and increasing insecurity.

Sudan’s Transitional Prime Minister Kamil El-Tayeb Idris, addressing the Council under Rule 37, presented what he described as a “homemade” peace initiative, while acknowledging the depth of the crisis.

“Hope itself has been placed under siege,” Idris said, outlining proposals for a ceasefire monitored by the UN, African Union, and League of Arab States, alongside disarmament measures, biometric registration of rebel combatants, and plans to facilitate the return of displaced civilians.

The United Arab Emirates rejected allegations linking it to the conflict and warned against regional spillover.

“The international community must not stand by as this civil war generates destabilizing risks for Sudan’s neighbors,” the UAE representative said, voicing support for a U.S.-led humanitarian truce and the Quad diplomatic process, while stressing that only an independent, civilian-led government can address the root causes of the conflict.

Diplomatic Efforts Continue

Khiari said the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, remains engaged with both warring parties and with regional and international partners—including the African Union, IGAD, the League of Arab States, and the European Union—to advance an African Union-led inter-Sudanese dialogue.

With the conflict nearing 1,000 days, Khiari urged the Council to send a clear and united message that those enabling the war will be held accountable, calling for the use of all available tools to protect civilians and push for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

“The United Nations is fully committed to supporting an inclusive path toward peace,” he said, “for the sake of the people of Sudan and regional stability.”