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The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the drone attack on a UN facility in war-torn Sudan, killing six peacekeepers on Saturday.
The attack targeted a peacekeeping logistics base of the UN Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in Kadugli, a city in central Sudan.
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The peacekeepers affected by the strike are Bangladeshi nationals serving with the UN Interim Security Force.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr Guterres condemned the attack, saying it constituted an unjustifiable war crime.
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“I strongly condemn the horrific drone attacks that targeted the @UNISFA_1 logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, resulting in fatalities & injuries of members of the Bangladeshi @UNPeacekeeping contingent.
“Attacks against @UN peacekeepers like this one are unjustifiable & may constitute war crimes. I remind everyone of their obligation to protect UN personnel & civilians. There will need to be accountability,” he wrote on X.
The Sudanese army accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, of being responsible for the attack.
The army said the attack shows the “subversive approach” of the RSF “rebel militia and those behind it, according to Al Jazeera.
The RSF and the Sudanese army have been in a civil war for more than two years.
Reacting to the attack, Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, said the attack deeply saddened him.
He identified that the attack led to the death of six nationals and injured eight others.
He urged the UN to provide “any necessary emergency support” to the affected nationals.
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Sudan’s civil war reignites illicit car trade into Chad
“The government of Bangladesh will stand by the families in this difficult moment,” he noted.
The civil war in Sudan, which began in 2023 after the power-sharing arrangement broke down, has claimed more than 40,000 lives and created severe humanitarian crises.
The recent attack comes just a month after the UN Security Council voted to renew the UNISFA peacekeeping mission.
The council agreed to extend the mission until November 2026 by a 12–0 vote late in November, with Russia, China, and Pakistan abstaining.
However, they warned that any future extensions would depend on tangible progress towards ending the fighting in the region.
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