A drone strike hit a United Nations logistics base in conflict-ridden Sudan on Saturday, resulting in the demise of six peacekeeping personnel, per a declaration.
The strike occurred at a peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, located in the mid-country region of Kordofan.
Eight additional personnel were wounded in the attack. All the casualties are citizens of Bangladesh, serving in the United Nations mission in Abyei.
“Strikes targeting United Nations personnel could be war crimes under international law,” the statement said, calling for those responsible for the “unacceptable” strike to be brought to justice.
Army Points Finger at Fighter Faction
The government forces assigned responsibility for the incident on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious paramilitary group that has been at war with the military for power in the country for since April 2023.
The strike “demonstrates the subversive approach of the rebel militia and its backers,” the army said in a communication.
Context of the Contested Area
The resource-abundant Abyei is a contested region between Sudan and South Sudan, and the UN mission has been stationed there since 2011, when the south became independent from Sudan.
Calls for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan were also issued to allow “a wide-ranging, all-encompassing and nationally led political process” to settle the fighting.
Country Plunged into Conflict Since 2023
Sudan was engulfed in open war in April 2023 when a political rivalry between the military and the RSF turned into open fighting in the national capital and across the country.
- The conflict has taken over 40,000 lives, a toll human rights organizations consider a low estimate.
- Recent combat has been concentrated in Kordofan, notably since the RSF captured El Fasher.
- The conflict has devastated urban areas and has been noted for atrocities, like systematic rape and killings based on ethnicity.
- These crimes have been described as war crimes by global observers.
- The situation has also created the globe's most dire humanitarian crisis and pushed parts of the country into starvation.
