A drone strike hit a United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, in Sudan’s central Kordofan region, killing six peacekeepers and wounding eight, UN secretary-general António Guterres said. All the victims were Bangladeshi personnel serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa).
Guterres warned that attacks on United Nations peacekeepers may amount to war crimes under international law and urged that those responsible be held accountable. He also called for an immediate ceasefire to enable “a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process” to resolve the conflict.
Sudan’s military blamed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the army for control of the country; the RSF had no immediate comment. The military described the strike as evidence of a “subversive approach” by the rebel militia and posted video footage showing thick black smoke over what it said was the UN facility.
The UN mission has been deployed in the oil-rich, disputed Abyei region since South Sudan’s 2011 independence. Sudan descended into widespread violence in April 2023 when tensions between the military and the RSF erupted into open warfare. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, a toll rights groups say is likely an undercount.
Fighting has recently focused on Kordofan, especially after the RSF seized El Fasher, the military’s last hold in Darfur. The war has devastated cities and been marked by atrocities — including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that the UN and rights groups say amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity — and has produced a severe humanitarian crisis, with parts of the country facing famine.
