UN probe links foreign support to Sudan’s drone war
A United Nations investigation says foreign weapons, personnel and logistics are extending Sudan’s war and enabling both sides to strike civilian areas far beyond the front lines.
Foreign support in Sudan’s war has helped turn drones into a leading threat to civilians, according to a new report by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan. Investigators said serious breaches of international law were committed during drone operations and that some conduct may amount to war crimes.
Foreign support in Sudan’s war expands drone reach
The mission said it had reasonable grounds to believe that a network of individuals and entities connected to the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Libya and Somalia supplied the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with weapons, equipment, logistical assistance, training and foreign personnel.
It also reported that as many as 2,000 Colombian contractors helped operate or maintain drone systems and other advanced weapons used by the RSF. Some were allegedly present during operations around al-Fashir in Darfur. Colombia told the investigators it opposed mercenarism and was acting over the involvement of its nationals in foreign conflicts.
The UAE rejected allegations that it had supplied arms or military materiel. Somalia said it did not permit its territory, airspace or ports to be used by parties to the war, while acknowledging gaps in information-sharing between federal and regional authorities. Chad and Libya had not responded when Reuters published its account of the findings. The RSF and Sudanese military did not immediately comment; both have previously denied abuses.
Civilian areas struck far from front lines
The inquiry said its investigation of outside support for Sudan’s military was less advanced, but it had found evidence that foreign-supplied combat drones and loitering munitions increased the army’s long-range capabilities. Some were reportedly used against civilian locations, including Yabus Market in Blue Nile State.
Investigators found evidence that both the army and RSF struck hospitals, schools, markets and displacement sites. The report cited army strikes that it said killed at least 70 people at Ad-Da’ein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur. It also documented repeated RSF strikes between May and July that damaged electricity and fuel infrastructure in El Obeid, disrupting water, healthcare and transport.
The UN says more than 1,000 civilians were killed by drone strikes in the first five months of 2026. That figure is consistent with earlier reporting by the Associated Press, which cited UN human-rights chief Volker Türk. AP also reported that drones accounted for about 80% of recorded civilian deaths during the first four months of the year.
Pressure for a nationwide arms embargo
The findings shift attention from battlefield claims to the international networks sustaining the conflict. The mission renewed its call for enforcement of the existing arms embargo on Darfur and urged the UN Security Council to extend it across Sudan.
The war between the army and RSF began in April 2023. More than 14 million people have been displaced, while the UN estimates that about 34 million people need assistance. Exact casualty totals remain uncertain because access and reporting are severely constrained.
Featured-image note: Neutral non-documentary editorial illustration created for Umma Media. Suggested alt text: “Editorial illustration of drones and external supply networks over a map of Sudan.”
Reporting and verification: UN Human Rights Office, Reuters and the Associated Press linked directly to the principal reports.
