A unmanned attack struck a UN facility in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, resulting in the demise of six UN soldiers, according to a statement.
The strike targeted a UN logistics base in the city of Kadugli, found in the mid-country region of Kordofan.
8 additional personnel were hurt in the strike. Each of the those affected are citizens of Bangladesh, serving in the United Nations mission in Abyei.
“Assaults targeting UN personnel could amount to violations of international law under international law,” it was declared, calling for those responsible for the “unjustifiable” strike to be prosecuted.
Army Points Finger at Paramilitary Group
The government forces assigned responsibility for the incident on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious armed faction that has been engaged in conflict with the government troops for dominance over the country for over 24 months.
The strike “demonstrates the subversive approach of the paramilitary group and its backers,” the army said in a statement.
Context of the Contested Area
The resource-abundant Abyei is a contested territory between Sudan and its southern neighbor, and the UN mission has been operating there since 2011, when South Sudan became independent from Sudan.
Calls for an swift truce in Sudan were also issued to allow “a comprehensive, all-encompassing and Sudanese-owned political process” to settle the fighting.
Country Plunged into Chaos Since 2023
Sudan was plunged into widespread violence in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF escalated into full-scale combat in the city of Khartoum and across the country.
- The conflict has taken tens of thousands, a toll rights groups regard as a significant undercount.
- Recent hostilities has been concentrated in Kordofan, notably since fighters took control of El Fasher.
- The crisis has devastated urban areas and has been marked by horrors, like systematic rape and ethnically motivated killings.
- These actions have been called international crimes by the UN and rights groups.
- The situation has also caused the globe's most dire humanitarian emergency and pushed parts of the country into extreme hunger.
