Dozens of Children Among Victims of RSF Attack on Kalogi Kindergarten

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: News websites

7 Dec 2025 11:34

The escalation in Sudan's South Kordofan violence is blamed on the RSF and SPLM-N.

Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed in a paramilitary drone attack on the army-held town of Kalogi in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, local officials said.

The assault, which took place on Thursday, targeted a kindergarten, a hospital, and later struck again as people rushed to rescue victims, according to Essam al-Din al-Sayed, head of the Kalogi administrative unit.

Al-Sayed blamed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls large areas of South Kordofan and parts of Blue Nile state.

The United Nations children’s agency reported that more than 10 children aged five to seven were killed, while the foreign ministry put the overall death toll at 79, including 43 children. “Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children’s rights,” UNICEF Representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett said, calling for an end to attacks and unhindered humanitarian aid.

Violence haunts Kordofan

Since April 2023, clashes between the army and the RSF have killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million people. Independent verification of events in Kordofan remains difficult due to restricted access, sporadic communications, and ongoing insecurity.

Thursday’s strikes come amid escalating drone attacks across Sudan, with both the army and RSF trading accusations.

On Friday, the RSF alleged that the army carried out a drone strike on the Adre border crossing with Chad, a key humanitarian and commercial route, claiming it aimed to block aid. The army has not commented, and local sources said an explosion at Adre was caused by a petrol canister igniting transport vehicles. Satellite imagery verified by AFP showed no visible signs of fire in Adre on Thursday or Friday.

Elsewhere, in North Darfur, the World Food Programme reported an attack on one of its trucks near Hamra El-Sheikh on Thursday. The truck, part of a 39-vehicle convoy delivering food to displaced families from El Fasher to Tawila, about 70 kilometres west, had its cabin destroyed, seriously injuring the driver.

A harrowing pattern of violence

Following their late-October capture of El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in western Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have advanced east into the oil-rich Kordofan region, which is divided into three states. Reports of mass killings, sexual violence, looting, and abductions emerged in the wake of El-Fasher’s fall.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk warned on Thursday of a potential new wave of atrocities in Sudan amid intense fighting in Kordofan. “It is truly shocking to see history repeating itself in Kordofan so soon after the horrific events in El Fasher,” he said.

Since the RSF seized the North Kordofan city of Bara on October 25, the UN has recorded at least 269 civilian deaths from aerial strikes, artillery shelling, or summary executions. A separate army drone strike in Kauda, the SPLM-N stronghold in South Kordofan, killed at least 48 people last week, according to UN reports.

The UN also estimates that more than 40,000 people have fled Kordofan over the past month. Analysts suggest the RSF’s offensive is designed to breach the army’s remaining defensive lines in central Sudan and pave the way for future attempts to retake major cities, including the capital, Khartoum.