Drone strike kills six UN peacekeepers in Sudan as fighting spreads south

A drone attack on a United Nations facility in Sudan has killed six peacekeepers and wounded eight others, drawing sharp condemnation from the UN secretary-general and underscoring the growing dangers facing international forces in the country’s grinding civil war.

The strike hit a UN peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in South Kordofan, on Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. All of the victims were Bangladeshi nationals serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).

“I strongly condemn the horrific drone attacks that targeted the United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan,” Guterres said. “Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.”

He added that such assaults were “unjustifiable” and stressed that “there will need to be accountability”.

Sudan’s military blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group it has been fighting since April 2023. The army said the strike exposed “the subversive approach of the rebel militia and those behind it”, and shared video footage showing thick black smoke rising from what it identified as the UN facility. The RSF did not immediately comment.

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, confirmed the death toll and said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack, calling on the United Nations to ensure Bangladeshi peacekeepers receive all necessary emergency support. “The government of Bangladesh will stand by the families in this difficult moment,” he said.

The attack comes as fighting intensifies in Kordofan, a region that has become increasingly strategic in Sudan’s war. The oil-rich Abyei area, where UNISFA has been deployed since South Sudan’s independence in 2011, remains disputed between Sudan and South Sudan.

Guterres renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire, urging the warring parties to allow space for “a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process” to end the conflict.

Sudan has been engulfed in violence since a power struggle between the army and the RSF erupted into open war more than two years ago. The conflict has devastated Khartoum and large parts of the country, killing more than 40,000 people by conservative estimates, with rights groups warning the true toll is likely far higher.