Six UN peacekeepers from Bangladesh have been killed and several others injured in a drone strike on a UN base in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state in central Sudan. The incident occurred on Saturday, according to sources within the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
Reports indicate that three drones struck the camp, hitting a fuel depot within the compound. The source did not specify who launched the drones.
In Dhaka, the Bangladesh Army confirmed the deaths of at least six of its personnel serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan. They also reported that eight others were wounded in the attack on the UN facility. A statement from the army described the situation in the area as unstable, noting ongoing clashes. They added that authorities are working to provide medical treatment and rescue operations for the injured.
Bangladesh is a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, with troops deployed in Abyei, a contested region between Sudan and South Sudan, for an extended period.
The Sudanese government, currently based in Port Sudan, has strongly condemned the attack. They attributed the strike to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), labeling it a “terrorist attack” using a drone. The government statement accused the RSF of a grave violation of the protection afforded to UN facilities and a blatant breach of international humanitarian law.
The government holds the RSF fully responsible for the attack and called on the UN and the international community to take decisive action to ensure the protection of UN facilities and humanitarian personnel, and to hold the perpetrators accountable under international law.
Kadugli has been under siege by the RSF for approximately eighteen months. The United Nations declared a state of famine in the city in November. The Kordofan region, divided into three states, is strategically important due to its agricultural output and location between army-controlled areas and the Darfur region.
