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Sudan drone strikes hit Abyei market and Khartoum as UN condemns attacks killing children

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Editor's note: TrendDesh covered the UN Security Council briefing on Sudan's drone war on 18 October. This update adds the strikes reported on 19 October and the UN's response.

Sudan drone strikes injured at least 19 people in a busy market in Abyei on 19 October 2026 and targeted several places in the capital, Khartoum, including an area near the airport, UN News reported. “We condemn all of these attacks unequivocally,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York. The UN says the rising use of armed drones is disrupting essential services across the country.

Sudan drone strikes: File photo of Abyei, a disputed area on the border of Sudan and South Sudan
File photo of Abyei, a disputed area on the border of Sudan and South Sudan Photo: UN Photo/Stuart Price via UN News (editorial use with credit).

Where the Sudan drone strikes landed

In Khartoum, one civilian was reportedly killed and some flights were cancelled after Monday’s attacks, the UN said. Over the weekend, drone attacks reportedly killed at least 19 people, including 10 children, and injured others across West Darfur, South Darfur and North Kordofan states. The new strikes follow a spate of deadly drone attacks the previous week. “We are alarmed by the continued deadly drone strikes across the country that are killing civilians, including children, and that are disrupting essential services,” Dujarric said.

Key Facts

  • Date: 19 October 2026
  • Abyei market: at least 19 injured
  • Khartoum: one civilian reportedly killed; some flights cancelled
  • Weekend toll: at least 19 killed, including 10 children
  • Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers killed since April 2023: 25

“We condemn all of these attacks unequivocally.”

— Stéphane Dujarric, UN Spokesperson

Darfur and Kordofan face hunger and famine risk

The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, former allies who seized power together in a 2021 coup, broke out in April 2023. About 20 million people now face acute hunger, with a rising risk of famine in parts of Darfur and Greater Kordofan, according to the UN. Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told the Security Council last Friday that outside actors must stop fuelling the violence and the use of drones, and again called on the warring sides to return to talks.

Aid workers killed as funding falls short

The UN also raised alarm over attacks on aid workers. Since the conflict began, 25 Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers have reportedly been killed on duty, including one killed last week while giving first aid at a health centre in Um Darfa, Blue Nile State, after a drone attack. “The targeting of those who put their own lives at risk to help others in humanitarian settings is particularly heinous,” Dujarric said, adding that civilians, medical facilities and staff must be protected under international humanitarian law. Dujarric expressed deep sadness over that killing. Despite the risks, the UN and its partners continue to deliver crucial assistance wherever they can: in Central Darfur, UN partners recently restored a water facility in Zalingei that serves about 2,500 people, and more than 2,000 families received water, sanitation and hygiene support. “Once again, we need more funding to sustain all of these lifesaving operations,” he said, noting that Sudan’s humanitarian response plan is just over 43 per cent funded.

Why It Matters: Drones are pushing Sudan's war deeper into markets, cities and aid sites, and the UN response plan is less than half funded as famine risk spreads.

Also on TrendDesh: Sudan war: UN's DiCarlo tells Security Council drones are now the leading cause of civilian deaths · Afghanistan hunger hits record: 15.9 million face acute food insecurity, 19.2 million by winter

Source: UN News, 19 Oct 2026 · TrendDesh, 18 Oct: Security Council on Sudan

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