Sudan: MSF treats 167 people for drone injuries in two weeks after strikes hit civilian areas

• In the first two weeks of February, MSF teams treated 167 patients for injuries from drone strikes in Sudan.
• Drone strikes are hitting civilian areas and critical infrastructure, including schools, markets, healthcare facilities, and water sources.
• We call for the immediate protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.

Drone attacks carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are hitting civilian areas and critical infrastructures, including schools, markets, healthcare facilities, and water sources, across Sudan. In the first two weeks of February, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) teams have treated 167 patients suffering from penetrating injuries at the level of the thorax and abdomen, multiple fractures of limbs, head injuries and drone shrapnel. MSF warns that this pattern of attacks is placing civilians and humanitarian workers at grave risk and calls for their immediate protection.

On February 15, an MSF team in Adré, eastern Chad, received 18 civilians—including four women and three children—who were injured in SAF drone strikes on a fuel market just across the border in Adikong, West Darfur state. On February 6, 29 people sustaining injuries were treated at an MSF-supported hospital in Tine, also in eastern Chad, following two RSF drone attacks in western Sudan, which killed at least 10 people, four of whom died in the hospital. Since that date, patients have been arriving frequently due to strikes. 

“Among the patients we received, a nine-year-old boy arrived with a large shrapnel wound to his eye, extensive facial fractures, and two amputated fingers. He was in severe pain and exposed to dust after a long journey to reach the facility. Even with optimal care, he is likely to face long-term disability. He was transferred to Ndjamena for further treatment,” says Virginia Moneti, MSF Project Medical Coordinator in Tine. 

Our teams in Zalingei, Central Darfur, also treated 29 patients this month following several attacks, including at least 8 civilians.
 

Following drone strikes on 3 November in North Darfur, MSF was forced to withdraw from Kornoi and Tina, halting vital medical and humanitarian services. These attacks have made it impossible for MSF to maintain a safe presence, leaving people without essential care.

“The war in Sudan is being fought with drones beyond the front lines. Our teams are regularly treating large numbers of drone wounded people, including women and children. These strikes are used to disrupt supply lines, damage civilian infrastructure, and at risk of creating siege-like conditions in contested areas,” says Esperanza Santos, MSF head of emergencies.

In North Kordofan, where MSF recently launched an emergency response in El Obeid, drone strikes reportedly hit a humanitarian convoy, a vehicle carrying displaced people, and a bus station on 6-7 February. Drone attacks reportedly also hit various health facilities in Kadugli and Dilling, South Kordofan state, in the first two weeks of February. 
 

“Recent incidents reveal a disturbing pattern in the conduct of the war in Sudan. Drone strikes are not limited to military targets, sometimes with multiple follow-ups strikes on the same location, and are causing devastating harm: civilians, including children, are being killed or severely injured in blatant disregard of international humanitarian law,” adds Esperanza Santos. “Armed actors must take immediate measures to protect civilians and humanitarian workers. Civilians must be always spared.”

MSF is deeply alarmed by this situation. When civilian areas and humanitarian infrastructure are not respected, our teams cannot operate safely, leaving communities without essential care. This is the exact opposite of what the people of Sudan urgently need, as humanitarian needs are immense and an immediate scale-up of assistance is critical.