UNICEF warns long-range drone strikes are reaching across Sudan
UNICEF says power stations were struck every day during the last week of October, as drones reaching up to 1,500 kilometres threaten essential services and aid work.
UNICEF warned on 10 November that increasingly long-range drone attacks are hitting infrastructure across Sudan, with some drones travelling up to 1,500 kilometres. The agency said power stations were struck every day during the last week of October, threatening services civilians depend on.
In a report published on 10 November, news.un.org quoted UNICEF spokesperson James Elder describing drones and drought as “closing in” on Sudan. Elder said up to 15 power stations were hit during October and that the attacks reflected a shift toward more accurate, long-range drones over the past 12 months.
- Elder said some drones travelled as far as 1,500 kilometres before striking.
- He said two in three child casualties in Sudan this year were killed by armed drones.
- UNICEF said the strikes are disrupting essential infrastructure and hindering aid efforts.
Why power station strikes affect civilians
Elder said humanitarian agencies could not determine who was behind at least 15 strikes on power stations in October. He also said drones were taking the conflict into places that had previously been safe, affecting access to safety, education and water. UN News reported that attacks on civilians, markets and public infrastructure were adding to hardship for non-combatants and obstructing aid.
The effects reach beyond electricity. Elder said farmers were losing the ability to irrigate crops because fuel shortages made it too expensive to run generators for water pumps. He said harvests were suffering and prices were rising. More than 15 million people urgently need shelter in Sudan, according to UN News.
Sudanese children face injury and displacement
A separate BBC report on 11 November described the impact of a drone strike on Zaher, a 13-year-old boy who lost both legs in Khartoum. The BBC said he and his mother travelled to Cairo for specialist care unavailable to him in Sudan, then returned to Khartoum. UNICEF figures cited by the BBC said more than 17 million children in Sudan needed humanitarian assistance and the agency had verified at least 4,300 children killed or maimed.
UNICEF’s response in Sudan
UN News reported that UNICEF and its partners had treated hundreds of thousands of children for severe acute malnutrition, provided healthcare to more than 2.5 million people and vaccinated millions of children. Repairs and solar connections to water systems supported by UNICEF were helping keep safe water flowing for close to eight million people. Elder said the agency’s Sudan response was one-third funded.
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What this story rests on
2 sources from 2 organisations: 1 official source, 1 broadcaster.
- 1Sudan war: First ‘suicide’ drone attacks, now long-range strikes are the normUN News (Daniel Johnson) · news.un.orgOfficial source
- 2Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr sends surprise message to Sudanese boy who lost his legs in warBBC News (Nawal Al-Maghafi; additional reporting by Scarlett Barter and Abdelrahman Abutaleb) · bbc.co.ukBroadcaster
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