A drone strike targeted a UN compound in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of six peacekeepers, as stated by a announcement.
The incident targeted a UN facility in the city of Kadugli, located in the mid-country region of Kordofan.
8 additional peacekeepers were injured in the assault. All the casualties are citizens of Bangladesh, part of the UN interim security force for Abyei (Unisfa).
“Attacks aimed at United Nations personnel could be war crimes under global statutes,” the statement said, demanding the culprits for the “inexcusable” strike to be prosecuted.
Military Points Finger at Paramilitary Faction
The government forces assigned responsibility for the strike on the paramilitary RSF group, a well-known armed faction that has been at war with the government troops for control of the country for over 24 months.
The strike “clearly reveals the subversive nature of the armed faction and its backers,” the military said in a statement.
Context of the Contested Region
The oil-rich Abyei is a claimed area between Sudan and South Sudan, and the United Nations contingent has been deployed there since 2011, when South Sudan became independent from Sudan.
Demands for an swift truce in Sudan were also made to allow “a comprehensive, inclusive and locally driven peace process” to address the war.
Nation Engulfed in Conflict Since 2023
Sudan was plunged into widespread violence in April 2023 when a political rivalry between the military and the RSF turned into full-scale combat in the city of Khartoum and across the country.
- The fighting has claimed more than 40,000 people, a toll advocates consider a significant undercount.
- Recent fighting has centred on Kordofan, especially since fighters seized El Fasher.
- The crisis has wrecked towns and has been marked by grave abuses, such as widespread sexual violence and ethnically motivated killings.
- These crimes have been described as crimes against humanity by international bodies.
- The conflict has also caused the world’s worst humanitarian disaster and forced parts of the country into famine.
