UN Human Rights Chief Issues High-Alert on Sudan Drone Deaths — 880+ Civilians Killed Jan–Apr 2026, Over 80% of All Conflict Deaths

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk issued a high-alert statement on May 11, 2026 (confirmed and widely reported through mid-May) documenting that at least 880 civilians were killed and more than 770 injured in drone strikes in Sudan between January and April 2026 — with armed drones accounting for over 80% of all conflict-related civilian deaths in the period. Markets were targeted at least 28 times and health facilities at least 12 times. Türk called on all parties to halt drone attacks on civilians and for drone-supplying states to cease transfers of drone technology to either side. The statement explicitly condemned both SAF and RSF drone campaigns, noting that SAF drones primarily struck RSF-held cities in Darfur and Kordofan while RSF drones targeted SAF-held cities and rear areas including Khartoum, El Obeid, Kosti, and Singa. The 880+ figure is an undercount given Sudan's media blackout conditions; OHCHR acknowledges only a fraction of drone deaths reach international documentation systems. UN Secretary-General António Guterres separately condemned individual attacks including the April 10 Kutum wedding strike (30–56 killed including 17 children) and the April 3 Al-Jabalain Hospital strike (10 killed including 7 medical staff). The OHCHR warning represents the highest-level UN human rights intervention specifically addressing Sudan's drone warfare in the conflict's three-year history. It is issued in the same week as the Treaty of Jeddah humanitarian agreement — whose civilian protection provisions exist alongside the reality of both parties continuing intensive drone campaigns against civilian-populated areas.