Drone strike on UN base in Sudan kills six Bangladeshi peacekeepers

Six peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed and eight others injured in a drone strike targeting a United Nations base in southern Sudan on Saturday. The attack, described by the head of Bangladesh's interim government as an act of terrorism, hit the UN mission in the contested Abyei Administrative Area.

Sudanese Army Accuses RSF Militia

The Sudanese military formally accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group of launching the assault on the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) base in the city of Kadugli. In a statement, the army said the RSF used a "strategic drone" to fire three missiles, resulting in the deaths and the burning of a mission warehouse. It condemned the act as a criminal violation of international humanitarian law and UN resolutions designed to protect peacekeeping forces.

International Condemnation and Calls for Accountability

Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council strongly denounced the attack, calling it a serious breach of protections for UN facilities and a "blatant violation" of international law. The Council held the RSF fully responsible and urged the UN and international community to take firm, deterrent measures to protect humanitarian workers and hold the perpetrators accountable. As of Saturday evening, the RSF had not publicly commented on the incident.

A First for the Abyei Mission and Broader Conflict Context

This marks the first direct aerial attack of its kind on the UNISFA mission since its deployment in 2011 to the oil-rich Abyei region, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. The attack occurs amid the wider war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023. The city of Kadugli has reportedly been under siege and subject to repeated artillery and drone attacks since the early months of the conflict. The UN mission's mandate was renewed just last month.