Nowhere is safe: Sudan's drone war on its own people

Sudan's war has entered its fourth year.

Drones are now striking schools, hospitals and fuel stations, and the world's largest humanitarian crisis keeps falling off the radar. 

More than 13 million people have been displaced since fighting broke out between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Last year the RSF was accused of genocidal violence in the city of El Fasher. Now it is encircling El Obeid in North Kordofan, and aid workers fear a repeat.

Kylie Morris and Latika Bourke speak with Noah Taylor, an Australian who heads the Norwegian Refugee Council's operations in Sudan.

He describes drone strikes killing civilians, children mimicking the sound of weapons as play, and aid convoys struck on the road.

Taylor argues the disaster is a failure of political will, and points out that Australia, as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has diplomatic leverage it has barely used. 

There is a wider warning too. The shift to cheap, indiscriminate drone warfare is spreading to conflicts far beyond Sudan, and no one yet has a reliable way to keep these weapons out of civilian skies.

His message to Australians is blunt: donate if you can but also reach out to the Sudanese families now living in your own suburbs, hear their stories, and refuse to let this war fade quietly from view. 

Guest: Noah Taylor, Head of Operations in Sudan, Norwegian Refugee Council

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