Unmanned Attack on UN Base in Conflict-Ravaged Sudan Claims 6 Peacekeepers
A unmanned attack hit a United Nations facility in conflict-ridden Sudan on Saturday, resulting in the loss of six peacekeepers, per a statement.
The attack targeted a UN logistics base in the city of Kadugli, located in the mid-country region of Kordofan.
8 other personnel were wounded in the strike. Each of the those affected are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the United Nations mission in Abyei.
“Attacks targeting United Nations personnel could be violations of international law under global statutes,” it was declared, urging the culprits for the “unjustifiable” attack to be prosecuted.
Military Accuses Fighter Group
The national army attributed the attack on the paramilitary RSF group, a notorious armed faction that has been at war with the government troops for control of the country for over 24 months.
The attack “clearly reveals the destructive nature of the rebel militia and its backers,” the military said in a statement.
Context of the Contested Region
The resource-abundant Abyei is a claimed area between Sudan and its southern neighbor, and the UN mission has been stationed there since 2011, when South Sudan became independent from Sudan.
Calls for an urgent halt to fighting in Sudan were also expressed to allow “a broad, inclusive and Sudanese-owned peace process” to address the conflict.
Country Engulfed in Chaos Since 2023
Sudan was engulfed in chaos in April 2023 when a dispute for control between the army and the RSF exploded into full-scale combat in the city of Khartoum and other parts the country.
- The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 people, a toll advocates consider a significant undercount.
- Recent combat has been concentrated in Kordofan, especially since the RSF seized El Fasher.
- The war has devastated cities and has been noted for atrocities, such as widespread sexual violence and killings based on ethnicity.
- These crimes have been labeled crimes against humanity by global observers.
- The situation has also caused the globe's most dire humanitarian crisis and pushed parts of the country into extreme hunger.
