MSF Warns Drone Attacks Escalate Across Sudan, Targeting Markets, Hospitals, Roads

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders / MSF) warned of an alarming escalation in drone attacks across Sudan, saying civilians are increasingly being targeted in strikes on markets, hospitals, roads and other public spaces far from active frontlines.

MSF said that, according to figures it cites by the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), nearly 350 drone attacks are recorded across Sudan since the beginning of 2026, mainly affecting parts of Kordofan, Darfur, White Nile and Blue Nile states.

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The UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that widening and intensifying violence in Sudan, alongside the rising use of drones, could lead to more death and displacement, saying “The international community is on notice that, unless action is taken without delay, this conflict is on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase.”

Reuters reported that Turk said armed drones have become the leading cause of civilian deaths, with drone strikes accounting for 80% of all conflict-related civilian deaths and at least 880 people killed by an unmanned aerial vehicle between January and April this year, according to OHCHR data.

In White Nile State, AFP reported that MSF said the Rapid Support Forces carried out two drone strikes on Jabalain Hospital, killing 10 people including seven healthcare workers and injuring at least 19 others.

The UN warning came as a drone attack on a crowded market in western Sudan killed 11 people and injured dozens, including children, with the Adikonj market attack described as sparking fuel stocks to ignite and fires to spread across the region on Thursday.

Al Jazeera’s Sudan War News quoted Volker Türk saying, “It is deeply troubling that, despite repeated reminders, warnings, and pleas, the warring parties continue to increasingly deploy drones capable of explosive weapons in populated areas.”

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AFP reported MSF said the Rapid Support Forces carried out two drone strikes on Jabalain Hospital in White Nile State, damaging an operating room and a maternity wing.

MSF also described a pattern of attacks on health-care facilities, with Esperanza Santos saying in an MSF statement that “MSF is furious about the repeated attacks on health-care facilities, which have dangerously escalated in recent weeks.”

In the same reporting, MSF said the injured from the Jabalain Hospital strike were transferred to a hospital in Kosti, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.

MSF warned that the growing use of drones by the warring parties is worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis by disrupting aid deliveries, restricting the movement of medical teams and deepening fear among communities struggling to survive more than three years of conflict.

MSF said teams operating in several affected areas have witnessed attacks taking place dangerously close to humanitarian workers, including one instance where strikes reportedly occur within 100 metres of aid staff.

In its figures cited by INSO, MSF said civilian infrastructure increasingly comes under attack, including 31 strike roads, 28 hit commercial facilities, 11 target health facilities, while displacement camps and schools are also affected.

Reuters reported Turk warned that increased violence could hamper delivery of critical aid supplies as parts of the country, including Kordofan, face an increased risk of famine and acute food insecurity, and he said drones were enabling fighting to continue during the rainy season.

MSF called on all parties to end the indiscriminate use of drones and to uphold protections for civilians, medical facilities and humanitarian workers under international humanitarian law, while also urging combatants to guarantee safe and sustained access for humanitarian assistance.