It’s the nightmare that just won’t end. While the world looks away, drones are raining down on markets, homes, and power stations in Sudan — and now the death toll is spiralling over the border too.

So, what’s actually happening?

In a blunt statement this week, the United Nations has strongly condemned what it calls a relentless and deeply concerning pattern of drone attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure across Sudan.

And Abyei wasn’t an isolated incident.

UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric also condemned a drone strike on Sunday that killed dozens of civilians in a market in Al Dibab, West Kordofan State.

It’s not Just Numbers

This is where it gets truly heartbreaking.

Dujarric said three children aged between two and six, and their father, were reportedly killed when a drone hit a residential area in Khartoum.

Another strike hit a family home in Nyala, South Darfur — killing and injuring civilians, including women and children. And in White Nile State, drones reportedly struck the main power station in Tendalti, plunging already desperate communities into darkness.

“Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law and must never be targeted,” Dujarric said.

He added that the strikes were taking a devastating toll on communities already struggling with the consequences of more than three years of conflict.

Think about it — mums shopping for supper, kids playing in the yard, families queuing for fuel. These aren’t military targets.

A Bit of Background

Let’s rewind. Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023 when a power struggle between two former allies — army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti — exploded into open fighting in Khartoum.

What started in the capital has now engulfed the country.

The figures are staggering. The UN says nearly 200,000 people have been killed and around 14 million displaced, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis. Other monitors like ACLED put the confirmed death toll at over 150,000, but aid groups warn the true number is far higher.

Hospitals, markets, bridges, water systems and power grids have been gutted. Cholera is sweeping through Darfur, famine is looming, and over 30 million people now need aid.

And now, cheap, deadly drones have changed the war. Both sides — the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces — are using them to hit deep behind enemy lines, but civilians are paying the price.

Why Abyei?

Abyei is a tinderbox with a long history. The Ngok Dinka community, who have close ties to South Sudan, and the Misseriya Arabs, who are traditionally backed by Khartoum, both claim it. A 2009 ruling and a never-held referendum were supposed to settle it. They didn’t.

Now, with Sudan’s army stretched thin and the RSF pushing in the west, Abyei’s market — a lifeline for traders from both countries — has become collateral damage in a war that no longer respects borders.

What’s Next?

1. Accountability: The UN is calling for an immediate investigation and for international humanitarian law to be respected. But with no ceasefire in sight, enforcement is almost impossible.

2. Aid access: The UN warns that continued strikes on power stations and fuel depots will make it even harder to deliver food, water and medicine.

3. Regional spillover: South Sudan, itself fragile and struggling with its own internal tensions, is now being dragged into Sudan’s war. Observers fear Abyei could become a new front.

For now, families in Abyei are still sifting through ash, looking for loved ones. The UN says it remains “alarmed” — but for people on the ground, alarm has long since turned into survival.

Source: cbinewstv.com

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