Six United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh died on Saturday after a drone strike hit their camp in Sudan’s South Kordofan region. The UN mission confirmed the deaths and said several others were injured.

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) said the attack struck its base in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state.

“Six troops were killed and six injured,” UNISFA said, adding that four of the injured are in serious condition. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals.

UN chief condemns attack

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the strike. He described the incident as “horrific” and warned it could amount to a serious crime.

“Attacks as the one today in South Kordofan against peacekeepers are unjustifiable. There will need to be accountability,” Guterres said, adding that such actions “may constitute war crimes under international law”.

Bangladesh reacts strongly

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed deep sorrow over the deaths. He confirmed that six peacekeepers were killed and eight others were wounded.

He said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack, and urged the United Nations to ensure that Bangladeshi personnel receive “any necessary emergency support”.

“The government of Bangladesh will stand by the families in this difficult moment,” Yunus added. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry also reacted firmly and said it “strongly condemned” the attack.

Strike hits UN facility in Kadugli

Earlier, a medical source in Kadugli told AFP that a strike hit a United Nations facility in the city. “Six people were killed in a bombing of the UN headquarters while they were inside the building,” the source said.

Witnesses reported that a drone carried out the attack. The Sudanese army later shared a video on Facebook that showed fires burning and two columns of smoke rising from the UNISFA base.

Sudanese sides trade blame

Sudan’s army-aligned government, which operates from Port Sudan, condemned the strike. It accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the attack.

The Sovereignty Council, led by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, called the incident a “dangerous escalation”.

However, the RSF denied responsibility. It rejected “the claims and allegations… regarding an air attack that targeted the United Nations headquarters in Kadugli, and the accompanying false accusations against our forces of being behind it through the use of a drone”, the group said in a statement on Telegram.

Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris also condemned the attack. He said, “the terrorist rebel militia has met all the conditions to be classified as a terrorist group”, and urged the UN to “bring the perpetrators to justice”.

Kadugli under siege

Kadugli has remained under siege by the RSF for about a year and a half. Authorities declared famine in the area in early November. UN peacekeepers operate in Abyei, a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, to help maintain stability.

Strategic importance of Kordofan

The RSF recently captured El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region. Since then, the group has pushed east into the oil-rich Kordofan region, which consists of three states.

Kordofan holds strategic value. It lies between RSF-controlled Darfur in the west and army-held regions in the north, east and centre. Control of the area helps secure supply routes and troop movement.

The RSF has fought Sudan’s military since April 2023. It has used fighters, drones and allied militias in the region. Analysts say the group wants to break through army defences in central Sudan and move toward retaking Khartoum.

Rising civilian toll

Violence in South Kordofan has already caused heavy civilian losses. Last week, strikes hit a kindergarten and a hospital in Kalogi, killing 114 people, including 63 children, according to the UN’s World Health Organization.

Sudan’s ongoing war has killed tens of thousands, forced millions from their homes, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Peace efforts have repeatedly failed.

Last month, US President Donald Trump said he would work to end the conflict after talks in Washington with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. However, no concrete progress has followed so far.