The United Nations expressed deep concern on Friday after a drone strike killed at least 17 civilians in Tine, a border town on Chad’s frontier with Sudan.
UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said the attack on Wednesday also injured several people, underscoring how Sudan’s conflict is increasingly reaching communities once far from frontline fighting.
He warned that the growing use of advanced drones by the warring sides is widening the scope of military operations, placing civilians at greater risk and complicating efforts to contain the violence.
The strike has heightened fears that neighbouring countries could become more directly involved, raising the risk of wider regional instability and tensions along already fragile borders.
Communities along the Sudan–Chad border are already facing deteriorating security conditions, with displacement, economic hardship and uncertainty intensifying as violence moves closer to civilian areas.
Aid officials say the spread of sophisticated weapons has deepened insecurity, turning previously remote regions into potential battlegrounds where civilians suffer the greatest impact.
The United Nations called on all parties to immediately de-escalate hostilities and fully respect international humanitarian law aimed at protecting civilians during armed conflict.
Officials stressed that only a credible political solution can stop the worsening crisis, warning that continued violence could fuel instability beyond Sudan’s borders.
As drones increasingly fill skies once defined by trade and migration routes, the conflict’s reach continues to expand, threatening the region’s already fragile security landscape.
