Aerial Strike on UN Facility in Conflict-Ravaged Sudan Kills Six Peacekeepers
A drone strike hit a UN logistics base in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, causing the loss of six UN soldiers, as stated by a announcement.
The attack occurred at a peacekeeping outpost in the city of Kadugli, situated in the mid-country region of Kordofan.
8 additional peacekeepers were wounded in the strike. Each of the casualties are citizens of Bangladesh, part of the United Nations mission in Abyei.
“Assaults aimed at United Nations peacekeepers may constitute international crimes under global statutes,” officials stated, urging the perpetrators for the “inexcusable” attack to be prosecuted.
Military Accuses Fighter Group
The national army blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious armed faction that has been fighting with the army for control of the country for more than two years.
The strike “clearly reveals the rebellious nature of the armed faction and its backers,” the military said in a release.
Background of the Contested Area
The resource-abundant Abyei is a claimed region between Sudan and South Sudan, and the United Nations contingent has been deployed there since 2011, when South Sudan seceded from Sudan.
Demands for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan were also issued to allow “a broad, all-encompassing and nationally led political process” to resolve the fighting.
Nation Plunged into Chaos Since 2023
Sudan was plunged into widespread violence in April 2023 when a political rivalry between the military and the RSF turned into direct clashes in the capital, Khartoum and across the country.
- The war has taken more than 40,000 people, a toll advocates regard as a major underestimate.
- Recent combat has centred on Kordofan, particularly since paramilitary forces captured El Fasher.
- The conflict has devastated towns and has been characterized by horrors, like widespread sexual violence and killings based on ethnicity.
- These actions have been called international crimes by international bodies.
- The situation has also caused the planet's most severe humanitarian disaster and driven parts of the country into extreme hunger.
