Peace elusive in Sudan's killing fields

NEARLY 700 civilians have been reported killed in drone strikes in Sudan since January, the UN said on Tuesday, detailing the devastation and humanitarian catastrophe wrought by the brutal civil war.

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A SUDANESE resident walks past a damaged building in Khartoum on Thursday. Of the nearly four million people who fled during the conflict, more than 1.8 million have returned over the past year.

(AFP)

Now entering a fourth year, the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 11 million, and thrust several areas into famine.

“In the first three months of this year, nearly 700 civilians were reportedly killed in drone strikes,” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said, a day before the three-year anniversary of the start of the war.

Near-daily drone strikes have disrupted life across Sudan, particularly in the southern Kordofan region, now the war’s main battleground, and in RSF-controlled areas of the west, including Darfur.

The UN children’s agency said drones were “responsible for nearly 80%” of the at least 245 children reported killed or injured during the first three months of the year.