Red Cross Concerned by Drone Attacks on Critical Infrastructure in Sudan

People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Red Cross Concerned by Drone Attacks on Critical Infrastructure in Sudan

People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
People collect food at a location set up by a local humanitarian organization to donate meals and medication to people displaced by the war in Sudan, in Meroe in the country's Northern State, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The Red Cross raised alarm on Thursday at the growing use of drone attacks by warring parties on hospitals, electricity and water infrastructure in Sudan, which it said was contributing to widespread human rights violations.

Some 70-80% of hospitals in Sudan were not running and there were concerns cholera could surge due to damage caused by the war to water infrastructure, the International Committee of the Red Cross told reporters in Geneva.

"A recent drone attack stopped all the electricity provision in an area close to Khartoum, which means critical infrastructure is being damaged," said Patrick Youssef, the Red Cross's Regional Director for Africa, in a new report.

"There is a clear increased use of these technologies, drones - to be in the hands of everyone - which increases the impact on the local population and the intensity of attacks," Youssef said.

After two years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, some people are returning to Khartoum after they were forced to flee when war broke out on April 15, 2023 amidst a ongoing power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a transition to civilian rule.

Some 12 million people have been displaced by the conflict since 2023.

"We have seen violations of the law left, right and center,” Youssef said, urging the warring parties to allow the Red Cross access so it can offer humanitarian support and document atrocities.

In March, aid groups told Reuters that the RSF had placed new constraints on aid deliveries to territories where it was seeking to cement its control. Aid groups have also accused the army of denying or hindering access to RSF-controlled areas.

Both sides in the conflict deny impeding aid.



UNICEF Says the World Has Failed Gaza’s Children

Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)
Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)
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UNICEF Says the World Has Failed Gaza’s Children

Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)
Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine M. Russell speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at the United Nations headquarters on July 16, 2025, in New York City. (AFP)

More than 17,000 kids have reportedly been killed and 33,000 wounded in the ongoing war in Gaza, UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

She said each of the territory's one million children have faced immense suffering.

An average of 28 kids die daily in Gaza, “a whole classroom of children killed every day for nearly two years,” she said.

Malnutrition has surged, with nearly 6,000 children acutely malnourished in June, a 180% increase since February, she said. UNICEF warns these children will face lifelong impacts.

Food supplies are running out and civilians are being shot while seeking something to eat, UN Undersecretary-General Tom Fletcher told the council.

"Civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity,” Fletcher he, emphasizing Israel’s obligation under the Geneva Conventions to provide food and medical aid as the occupying power in Gaza.

He also challenged the council to consider whether Israel’s rules of engagement incorporate all the precautions to avoid and minimize civilian casualties.