UN report links foreign arms and drones to Sudan conflict and possible war crimes

A United Nations fact-finding mission released a report stating that foreign weapons, drones and mercenaries are prolonging the Sudan war that began in April 2023 and that some attacks may amount to war crimes. Investigators identified a cross-border network linking the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Libya and Somalia to the Rapid Support Forces, providing arms, training, logistics and fighters. Colombian contractors, numbering up to about 2,000, were found operating and maintaining drone systems used by the RSF, including in operations around al-Fashir.

Both the RSF and Sudan’s army have employed combat drones and loitering munitions to strike deep-range civilian targets such as markets, hospitals and displacement camps, with the mission citing more than 1,000 civilian deaths from drone strikes between January and May 2026. Recent RSF drone attacks damaged power and fuel infrastructure in El Obeid, worsening the humanitarian situation. The UN mission called for stricter enforcement of the Darfur arms embargo and urged the Security Council to broaden it across all of Sudan.