Drone warfare has emerged as the deadliest threat to civilians in Sudan's ongoing conflict, with at least 880 civilians killed by drone strikes between January and April 2025, according to United Nations officials.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk reported this week that armed drones now account for more than 80% of conflict-related civilian deaths in the war between Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced 13 million and pushed parts of the country into famine.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project shows at least 2,670 people, including combatants and civilians, were killed by drones in 2025, representing a 600% increase in drone-related deaths compared to the previous year. Drone strikes have targeted civilian infrastructure including hospitals, dams, schools, markets and displacement camps across multiple provinces.

The escalation has been particularly severe in the Kordofan region, where most civilian drone deaths have occurred. On May 8, drone strikes in South Kordofan and near el-Obeid in North Kordofan reportedly killed 26 civilians. The Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese rights group, reported Tuesday that nine drone attacks on civilian vehicles killed at least 36 people over 10 days across seven provinces.

Experts say both warring parties are receiving foreign-supplied drone technology from multiple countries. According to analysts, the RSF has been supplied via networks linked to the United Arab Emirates through regional transit points including Ethiopia, Chad and Libya, while the military receives drone technology from Turkey, Russia, Iran and Egypt. The UAE has denied supplying drones to the RSF.

The sophisticated drone capabilities have enabled ground offensives and expanded strikes on densely populated areas, with researchers noting the RSF's use of Chinese-made CH-95 and FH-95 drones. In el-Fasher city in North Darfur, where at least 6,000 people were killed over three days last year, drones played a crucial role in the RSF's seizure of the city, according to humanitarian researchers who described the violence as bearing "hallmarks of genocide."