OHCHR / SUDAN ARMED DRONES USE

In a recorded statement, Human Rights spokesperson Seif Magango “strongly” condemned “the rising use of armed drones in Sudan and the deadly impact it is having on civilians” warning that “intensified and widening violence in the coming weeks could result in more displacement and disruption to critical aid flows.” OHCHR

• Video Length: 00:02:18
• Production Date: 11 May 2026
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - OHCHR
• Subject Topical: HUMAN RIGHTS; WAR; WAR VICTIMS
• Geographic Subject: SUDAN
• MAMS Id: 3570096
• Parent Id: 3570096
• Alternate Title: unifeed260511c

Description

STORY: OHCHR / SUDAN ARMED DRONES USE
TRT: 02:18
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 11 MAY 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE

Shotlist

FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Various shots, exterior Palais Wilson

11 MAY 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Seif Magango, Spokesperson, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“We strongly condemn the rising use of armed drones in Sudan and the deadly impact it is having on civilians, and warn that intensified and widening violence in the coming weeks could result in more displacement and disruption to critical aid flows. Findings by our Sudan team show that drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths between January and April this year - amounting to more than 80 percent of all conflict-related civilian deaths documented by our office. Most of the deaths from drone strikes during this period were recorded in the Kordofan region. More recently, however, drone strikes on Al Quz in South Kordofan and near El Obeid in North Kordofan on 8 May reportedly killed 26 civilians. Use of armed drones by both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces is also spreading beyond Kordofan and Darfur, to Blue Nile, White Nile, and Khartoum. A drone strike on Khartoum International Airport on 4 May led to disruption of all flights. There were also several targeted drone attacks elsewhere in Khartoum and its sister city of Omdurman between 28 April and 5 May. Armed drones have now become by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths and increasing reliance on them risks allowing hostilities to continue unabated in the approaching rainy season. This must not be allowed to happen. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is calling on the international community to adopt robust measures to prevent the transfer of arms to the parties to the conflict, including increasingly advanced armed drones. He is also once again calling on all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians.”

FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

3. Various shots, exterior Palais Wilson

Storyline

In a recorded statement, Human Rights spokesperson Seif Magango today (11 May) “strongly” condemned “the rising use of armed drones in Sudan and the deadly impact it is having on civilians” warning that “intensified and widening violence in the coming weeks could result in more displacement and disruption to critical aid flows.”

Magango said, “findings by our Sudan team show that drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths between January and April this year - amounting to more than 80 percent of all conflict-related civilian deaths documented by our office. Most of the deaths from drone strikes during this period were recorded in the Kordofan region. More recently, however, drone strikes on Al Quz in South Kordofan and near El Obeid in North Kordofan on 8 May reportedly killed 26 civilians. Use of armed drones by both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces is also spreading beyond Kordofan and Darfur, to Blue Nile, White Nile, and Khartoum. A drone strike on Khartoum International Airport on 4 May led to disruption of all flights. There were also several targeted drone attacks elsewhere in Khartoum and its sister city of Omdurman between 28 April and 5 May. Armed drones have now become by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths and increasing reliance on them risks allowing hostilities to continue unabated in the approaching rainy season. This must not be allowed to happen. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is calling on the international community to adopt robust measures to prevent the transfer of arms to the parties to the conflict, including increasingly advanced armed drones. He is also once again calling on all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians.”