Besieged Sudanese city faces relentless drone strikes and risk of mass atrocities, U.N. warns
The Sudanese city of el-Obeid is facing a humanitarian crisis due to relentless drone strikes by both government forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The United Nations has issued a red alert, warning that the city is at high risk of mass atrocities similar to those seen in Darfur.
Why it matters
The escalation of drone warfare in civilian areas represents a significant shift in the brutality of the Sudanese civil war and poses a major challenge for international intervention.
Whenever residents of the besieged city of el-Obeid look up at the sky, it is filled with drones — sometimes as many as 40 at a time.
The hum of the unmanned aircraft, which have been conducting deadly strikes on the city for months, has become the soundtrack to their days.
"You might get hit and killed by a drone while you're asleep at home, or while on the way to school. You could also get hit by a drone in the market," says one 25-year-old resident.
The local aid worker doesn't want to be named because of the risk to her safety, but she says they even hit funerals.
Her uncle was killed in a drone strike while going to bury his neighbor — who'd been killed in a drone strike.
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