Drone Strike Kills Six UN Peacekeepers in Sudan

A drone strike struck a United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, in Sudan’s central Kordofan region, killing six UN peacekeepers and wounding eight, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said. All of the victims were Bangladeshi personnel serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa).

Guterres warned that attacks on UN peacekeepers could constitute war crimes under international law and urged that those responsible be held to account. He also called for an immediate ceasefire to allow “a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process” to resolve the fighting.

Sudan’s military blamed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group fighting the army for control of the country; the RSF had no immediate comment. The military released video it said showed thick black smoke over the targeted UN facility and described the strike as evidence of a “subversive approach” by the militia.

The UN mission has operated in the oil-rich, disputed Abyei area since South Sudan’s 2011 independence. Sudan descended into wide-scale violence in April 2023 after clashes between the military and the RSF escalated into full-scale war. Rights groups estimate the death toll at more than 40,000, a figure they say is likely an undercount.

Recent fighting has centered on Kordofan after the RSF captured El Fasher, the military’s last position in Darfur. The conflict has devastated cities and been accompanied by atrocities — including mass rape and ethnically driven killings that the UN and rights groups describe as war crimes and crimes against humanity — and has produced a severe humanitarian emergency, with some areas facing famine.