Drone strike on UN facility in war-torn Sudan leaves six peacekeepers dead

A drone strike has hit a United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in war-torn Sudan, killing six peacekeepers, the UN secretary general António Guterres has said.Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike on Saturday in the city of Kadugli in the central region of Kordofan. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN interim security force for Abyei (Unisfa).“Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” said Guterres, who called for those responsible for the “unjustifiable” attack to be held accountable.The Sudanese military blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious paramilitary group that has been at war with the army for control of the country for more than two years. There was no immediate comment from the RSF.The attack “clearly reveals the subversive approach of the rebel militia and those behind it”, the military said. It posted a video on social media showing plumes of dense black smoke over what it said was the UN facility.The oil-rich Abyei is a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, and the UN mission has been deployed there since 2011, when South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan.Guterres also called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan to allow “a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process” to settle the conflict in the north-east African country.Sudan was plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people – a figure rights groups consider a significant undercount.The fighting has recently centred on Kordofan, particularly since the RSF took control of El Fasher, the military’s last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.The war has wrecked urban areas and has been marked by atrocities, including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings which the UN and rights groups have said amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur.The war has also created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and pushed parts of the country into famine.