KHARTOUM – At least 17 civilians, including women and children, were reported killed in two drone strikes that hit areas sheltering displaced families in Al-Nahud and Ghubeish in West Kordofan State on Friday, Oct. 9, the United Nations said.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said in a statement on Sunday that one strike hit a building sheltering displaced families in Al-Nahud, killing at least 12 civilians and injuring eight others.
In Ghubeish, a separate drone strike hit a residential area hosting displaced families, killing five civilians, including three children, according to reports cited by OCHA.
The U.N. statement did not identify who carried out either attack.
OCHA said the victims had already been forced from their homes by the conflict before facing further violence in places where they had sought safety.
The two attacks occurred on the same day as another drone strike in Wad Al-Mahi locality in Blue Nile State.
U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Denise Brown said on Saturday that preliminary information indicated at least 31 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed and dozens more injured near a displacement site there.
Brown called for accountability over that attack and also referred to an earlier strike on a displacement shelter in El Obeid, North Kordofan, that killed and injured civilians, including children.
OCHA warned that the growing frequency of drone strikes across Sudan is exposing civilians, including displaced families, to further death, injury and suffering.
The agency called for respect for international humanitarian law and for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, stressing that people fleeing violence must be able to reach safety without facing new threats to their lives.
