Drone Strike on United Nations Compound in War-Torn Sudan Leaves 6 UN Personnel
A unmanned attack struck a UN facility in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, causing the deaths of six peacekeepers, as stated by a announcement.
The attack targeted a peacekeeping facility in the city of Kadugli, situated in the mid-country region of Kordofan.
8 other peacekeepers were wounded in the assault. Each of the casualties are Bangladeshi nationals, part of the UN peacekeeping contingent in Abyei.
“Assaults against United Nations peacekeepers could be international crimes under international law,” the statement said, calling for those responsible for the “inexcusable” strike to be prosecuted.
Army Blames Fighter Group
The national army assigned responsibility for the attack on the paramilitary RSF group, a prominent armed faction that has been engaged in conflict with the government troops for power in the country for since April 2023.
The strike “shows the destructive nature of the rebel militia and those behind it,” the army said in a communication.
Background of the Contested Area
The oil-rich Abyei is a claimed area between Sudan and its southern neighbor, and the UN mission has been stationed there since 2011, when the south became independent from Sudan.
Calls for an swift truce in Sudan were also issued to allow “a wide-ranging, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process” to address the war.
Country Engulfed in Chaos Since 2023
Sudan was thrown into widespread violence in April 2023 when a dispute for control between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the national capital and across the country.
- The conflict has taken tens of thousands, a number human rights organizations regard as a significant undercount.
- Recent hostilities has been concentrated in Kordofan, notably since the RSF took control of El Fasher.
- The conflict has devastated cities and has been noted for grave abuses, such as mass rape and ethnic slaughter.
- These acts have been labeled crimes against humanity by global observers.
- The situation has also precipitated the globe's most dire humanitarian emergency and forced parts of the country into famine.
