Rabat – A drone strike hit a United Nations peacekeeping logistics base on Saturday in the Sudanese city of Kadugli in the central region of Korodofan.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks, saying that “attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and I remind all parties to the conflict of their obligation to protect personnel and civilians.” He called for those responsible to be held accountable for the “unjustifiable attack.”
The strike killed six peacekeeping volunteers and injured eight others. The volunteers were Bangladeshi nationals serving in the UN interim security force for Abyei (Unisfa).
The Korodofan region has been a spot for violent clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have been engaged in civil war since 2023.
The Secretary-General reiterated his call on the warring parties for “an immediate cessation of hostilities and to resume talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process.”
The strike follows years of political fallout and conflict throughout war-torn Sudan.
The conflict has resulted in a humanitarian crisis marked by an endemic of sexual violence. US President Donald Trump’s Africa Envoy called Sudan’s conflict the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis.”
The Sudanese army blames the attacks on the RSF. Fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese armed forces erupted in 2023, four years after the ousting of Sudan’s former government. Once allies, the two forces carried out a joint coup in 2019.
The allyship eventually spiraled into the ongoing conflict due to political differences.
