Six UN Bangladeshi peacekeepers get killed in drone strike in Sudan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack as “horrific” and “unjustifiable,” warning that “attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.” A UNISFA ceremony was held on Monday to honor the fallen peacekeepers.
Sudan’s army-backed government blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the strike, calling it a “flagrant breach of the protection guaranteed to UN facilities.” The RSF denied responsibility, calling the claim “lies” and describing it as “a desperate and pathetic attempt to fabricate false accusations against [its] forces.”
The incident comes amid an escalation of drone attacks in and around Kadugli, where clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF have continued as the conflict nears its third year. Since the outbreak of the war, more than 40,000 people are estimated to have been killed, with reports of atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings, especially in Darfur.
UN operations have faced other security challenges, including the detention of over 60 UNISFA peacekeepers and the abduction of civilian staff during attacks on a logistics convoy. UNISFA, deployed in Abyei since South Sudan’s independence in 2011, currently includes nearly 4,000 military and police personnel tasked with protecting civilians and supporting humanitarian aid delivery in the oil-rich and contested territory.
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