PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   Iran faces renewed accusations of involvement in a deadly conflict, this time for providing attack drones to a faction in Sudan’s brutal civil war. These unmanned aircraft are reportedly causing indiscriminate casualties among women and children.

Now entering its fourth year, the war is estimated by some sources to have resulted in up to 400,000 fatalities since it started on April 15, 2023. Over 11 million people have been forced from their homes, creating the world’s most severe displacement crisis.

Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), informed Digital that Iran has been supplying the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with drones, particularly the Mohajer-6 model produced by U.S.-sanctioned Qods Aviation Industries, since 2013.

The U.S. State Department has criticized the deployment of drones against civilians in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, alleging the SAF’s widespread use of Iranian drones. Separately, an Iranian woman is in federal custody in California following her arrest this month over a suspected scheme to send more Iranian drones to Sudan.

Evidence indicates that both the SAF and their opposing rebel militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are turning to drone attacks against civilians with growing frequency.

Wahba stated that “between December 2023 and July 2024, a minimum of seven cargo flights operated between Iran and Sudan, presumably carrying drones and parts. On April 19, an Iranian-born U.S. resident was detained at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for allegedly arranging a $70 million agreement to provide Mohajer-6 systems and other equipment to Sudan’s Ministry of Defense, suggesting the transfers are probably continuing.”

A State Department spokesperson told Digital, “We are deeply troubled by the expansion of drone warfare by the involved parties in Sudan and its consequences for civilians and civilian structures. Recently, drones operated by both the RSF and SAF have demolished hospitals and schools, resulting in civilian deaths.”

The initial announcement of the U.S. drone plot case came from Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, in an April 19 post on X: “Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for arms trafficking on behalf of Iran’s government. She faces charges for violating 50 U.S.C. § 1705 by facilitating the sale of Iranian-made drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of ammunition rounds to Sudan.”

The social media post included photographs of Iranian drones and an image resembling a suitcase filled with U.S. currency.

Ciaran McEvoy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California told Digital that Mafi “is still in federal custody, with her arraignment set for Friday, May 8, in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.”

Wahba informed Digital that the Mohajer-6 drone Iran provides to Sudan is “Iran’s primary drone,” noting it is the same system utilized by Hezbollah and the Houthis in attacks against Israel and in the Red Sea.

“The Mohajer-6 is a multi-use platform employed for reconnaissance and targeted strikes,” Wahba continued. “It is capable of lingering over an area, gathering information, and returning to base.”

The State Department expressed broader worries to Digital: “Islamist factions aligned with the SAF have established ties with the Iranian government and obtained support from Iran. We have imposed sanctions on several such groups, including the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, which has employed extreme violence against civilians and obstructed peace efforts. Numerous fighters from these groups have gotten training and backing from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and have carried out atrocities against civilians.”

United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric denounced recent drone strikes in Sudan. He informed reporters: “A United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) aid truck transporting emergency shelter materials was hit by a drone on Friday, April 24, as it passed through the town of Umm Drisaya in North Darfur. All the supplies were consumed by fire.”

Dujarric continued: “A second event happened on Saturday, April 25, when a drone allegedly inflicted casualties in residential areas of El Obeid city, North Kordofan state. A local medical organization reported seven fatalities and more than twenty injuries.”

“These are regular families in their own homes, trapped by violence that keeps spreading into civilian areas,” Dujarric said. “We denounce every one of these attacks.”

Ricardo Pires, communication manager for UNICEF, told Digital: “For Sudanese children, the noise of a drone is another terrifying warning to take cover and pray they are not the next victims. Throughout Darfur and Kordofan, drones and other explosive devices are converting streets, hospitals, and schools into zones of peril and mortality. This is more than a safety risk for children; it is an assault on childhood itself by modern warfare tactics.”

The State Department spokesperson further stated, “To defend U.S. interests, including the preservation of religious freedom in Sudan, American initiatives aim to reduce harmful Islamist sway within Sudan’s government and restrict Iran’s regional operations, which have fueled instability, conflict, and civilian anguish across the region.”