Sudan: 100+ Civilians Dead in 22 Days of Intensified Attacks

Geneva – The increasing attacks in Sudan, which are causing civilian casualties, injuries, and destruction of homes, markets, water and energy sources, as well as health and educational facilities, are extremely concerning. This is especially troubling given the ongoing conflict since April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their affiliates.

In just 22 days, from 23 July to 14 August, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor recorded over 100 civilian deaths and multiple injuries caused by ground attacks, air strikes, and drone strikes across North Kordofan, Blue Nile, Khartoum, River Nile, and other regions. This initial count is based on monitored and verified incidents and does not reflect the total number of casualties due to restricted access, communication failures, and widespread fighting in various areas.

This escalation is part of an even larger pattern. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documented over 1,000 civilian deaths caused by drone strikes in Sudan from January to May 2026. This confirms that drones are now a key part of military operations that frequently lead to extensive civilian casualties.

On 14 August, the Um Arada area southwest of El Obeid in North Kordofan State was targeted in a ground attack by the RSF during ongoing clashes with the Sudanese Armed Forces and their allies. This attack resulted in 18 civilian deaths and 17 injuries, according to local authorities. The RSF claimed control of the area, whereas the army said they had successfully repelled the attack, leading to conflicting reports about the current situation.

The attack resulted in heavy civilian casualties and forced hundreds to flee seeking safety. It also involved looting and the destruction of private property. According to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, approximately 4,250 people were displaced from Um Arada, Tamid, and Al-Khor Al-Abyad in Sheikan District on 14 and 15 August, either relocating within the district or moving to Omdurman.

Euro-Med Monitor urges an urgent, independent investigation into the Um Arada attack to identify the responsible forces and individuals, the targets, the weapons used, the orders issued, and the precautions taken. It should also aim to determine whether the fire was aimed deliberately at civilians, was indiscriminate, or resulted in excessive civilian casualties. Additionally, the investigation should examine looting and property destruction to establish individual and command responsibilities.

On 12 and 13 August, several Sudanese cities, including Khartoum, Bahri, Atbara, and El Obeid, witnessed a wave of drone attacks on densely populated urban centres. According to witness testimony and medical sources, El Obeid alone was attacked by eight drones. The strikes targeted areas around vital and commercial facilities and power stations, killing two civilians, injuring others, cutting electricity, closing central markets, and hindering public life. These effects exposed civilians and civilian objects to danger and obstructed residents’ access to their necessities.

The conflict in Sudan is a non-international armed conflict regulated by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol II, to which Sudan is a party, and customary international humanitarian law rules such as distinction, proportionality, precautions, and civilian protection.

International humanitarian law treats drone use the same as any other warfare tool. Parties must confirm that the target is military, select methods and timing to minimise civilian harm, cancel or pause an attack if the target is civilian or if the civilian harm would be disproportionately high compared to the military gain, and give a proper warning when possible.

The presence of fighters or a military site in a city does not automatically make the city an open military target or exempt nearby civilians’ homes, markets, mosques, hospitals, and other civilian objects from protection. International humanitarian law prohibits treating a populated area with scattered military objectives as a single target and prohibits weapons or tactics that cannot be precisely directed or whose effects cannot be controlled. Bombing in these situations is considered an illegal indiscriminate attack, even if there is no explicit intent to harm civilians.

Power and water stations, markets, schools, places of worship, and healthcare facilities are protected civilian objects. Attacking them causes more than just physical damage; it also deprives residents of water, electricity, healthcare, and food. These impacts should be considered when evaluating an attack’s proportionality. Such objects lose protection only if, at the moment of attack, they qualify as a military objective because of their nature, location, purpose, or use, and disabling them offers a concrete military advantage.

Furthermore, hospitals, medical units, and medical transport are granted special protection and cannot be targeted. This protection ceases only if they are used for hostilities beyond their humanitarian role, after a clear warning with a reasonable period that is ignored. Providing care to wounded fighters, armed guards on site, or nearby forces does not justify removing this protection.

The impact of an attack on the health sector is worsened by its widespread collapse. In April 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 37 per cent of health facilities in Sudan were non-operational because of destruction, looting, insecurity, and shortages of staff, medicines, and equipment. This devastation deprives communities of essential healthcare and raises the risk of death for patients and the wounded.

Recent attacks have also targeted agricultural and pastoral regions and populated communities, leading to casualties among farmers and herders. These assaults have included looting of homes, markets, livestock, and crops, as well as disruptions to agricultural activities, which threaten the food security of local populations.

The destruction or seizure of property without a compelling military reason, as well as conflict-related looting, are prohibited, with the latter also constituting a war crime. Agricultural land, crops, livestock, and water and irrigation infrastructure are protected resources which must not be targeted, damaged, or made unusable to prevent civilians from being starved.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis issued in May 2026 estimated that 19.5 million people, approximately 41 per cent of the population, faced high levels of acute food insecurity between February and May 2026. This included around 135,000 people in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe) and more than five million in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). The analysis did not classify any area as in famine at the time, but identified a risk of famine in 14 areas across North Darfur, South Darfur, and South Kordofan under a plausible scenario of increased fighting and restricted access to food and aid. It also projected that around 825,000 children under five would suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2026.

The conflicting parties are required to enable the quick and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid, while maintaining the right to implement temporary control measures to verify the humanitarian status of shipments. Such control measures must not be used to block or delay relief efforts, and consent to relief operations should not be arbitrarily denied if the controlling party cannot meet the population’s basic needs. Intentionally obstructing relief supplies, especially as a tactic involving starvation of civilians, may be considered a war crime.

The intensifying conflict near El Obeid has exerted significant pressure on a city already burdened with many displaced residents. According to United Nations humanitarian actors, approximately 15,000 displaced families had reached the city in the three weeks before mid-August.

In Blue Nile State, the International Organization for Migration estimated that approximately 2,500 individuals, representing 500 families, were displaced from Qaysān after fighting erupted on 11 August. Euro-Med Monitor’s data show that the total displaced population has surpassed 10,000, with drones chasing civilians during their flight, resulting in fatalities and injuries, along with extensive looting of both public and private property.

Forced displacement does not need a written or publicly announced order. It can result from a coercive environment created through killing, bombardment, and looting, leaving civilians no real option but to flee. Issuing or enforcing evacuation orders outside cases of civilian security or urgent military need might constitute a war crime. Additionally, forced transfer can be considered a crime against humanity if it is part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians, and other crime elements are met.

The arms embargo, established by Security Council resolutions 1556 and 1591 and extended by Resolution 2791 until 12 September 2026, is currently limited to actors in Darfur and does not apply to the entire Sudan. Euro-Med Monitor stresses that this limited scope has proven ineffective in stopping arms flows or preventing atrocities, which highlights the urgent need to expand the embargo to encompass all of Sudan.

The lack of a broad embargo beyond Darfur does not exempt supplying states from their duties. According to Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, states must avoid encouraging or enabling violations and should leverage their influence to prevent them. Additionally, the Arms Trade Treaty mandates that states parties prohibit exports if they know the weapons could be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes. They must also deny export licenses when there’s a significant risk of serious violations that cannot be sufficiently mitigated.

The Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, and their allies must promptly stop all direct, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks. They should also avoid using munitions or warfare methods that are unlawful in populated areas, issue binding orders to safeguard civilians, and investigate all attacks resulting in civilian casualties, holding those responsible accountable.

All parties to the conflict must ensure swift, safe, and continuous humanitarian access across front lines and borders. They should protect relief workers and transportation, prevent looting of food, crops, and livestock, and avoid disrupting water facilities. Civilians must be allowed to leave conflict zones safely and have the right to return. Additionally, parties should not use evacuation or deprivation as means to induce permanent demographic change.

The Security Council should enforce a complete ban on supplying weapons, drones, ammunition, spare parts, and technical services to all parties involved in the conflict across Sudan. Additionally, targeted sanctions such as asset freezes and travel bans should be imposed on leaders, intermediaries, and companies responsible for violations, including of the current embargo.

All states are required to halt arms transfers if there’s a risk they could be used in serious violations. They must also investigate the networks involved in financing, transportation, and export, and keep detailed records of supply records and technical data to trace the origin of weapons and determine the chain of responsibility.

Euro-Med Monitor urges the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to accelerate investigations into ongoing crimes committed in Darfur under the existing referral, identify direct perpetrators and commanders, and seek arrest warrants for those against whom sufficient evidence exists, while calling on states to cooperate fully in enforcing them.

The Security Council should refer the situation in all of Sudan to the International Criminal Court, allowing investigation of crimes beyond Darfur. It also urged the Fact-Finding Mission and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to preserve physical and digital evidence and to identify individual responsibilities and command chains, preparing for prosecution in international or national courts.

Euro-Med Monitor calls on states to initiate criminal investigations under universal jurisdiction into suspected war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against humanity on their territory. They should deny shelter to these individuals, arrest them where legally justified, and pursue prosecution or surrender them to proper judicial authorities.