Khartoum [Sudan], December 14: Six United Nations peacekeeping soldiers were killed in a drone attack in the Kordofan region of southern Sudan on December 13, according to the UN mission.
The United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) confirmed that six soldiers were killed and six wounded, four of them seriously, when a drone attacked their camp in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state.
United Nations peacekeeping forces are being deployed in Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the horrific attack, saying it could constitute a war crime under international law.
All the victims were from Bangladesh , according to AFP, citing a statement from UNISFA. The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack.
Additionally, Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his deep sorrow over the attack, stating that six people were killed and eight were injured. He requested that the United Nations ensure that Bangladeshi personnel receive the necessary emergency assistance.
The Sudanese army posted a video on its Facebook page showing flames and two columns of smoke rising from the UNISFA base. The military-coalition government based in Port Sudan issued a statement condemning the attack and accusing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of being behind it.
In a statement, the Sovereign Council, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese army, called the attack a dangerous escalation.
Meanwhile, RSF stated on the Telegram messaging app that they reject the claims and allegations... relating to an airstrike targeting the United Nations headquarters in Kadugli and "the accompanying false accusations against our forces as the perpetrators through the use of drones."
Kadugli, where a famine was declared in early November, has been under siege by RSF for a year and a half, according to AFP.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
