Six UN Peacekeepers Killed in Drone Attack in South Kordofan

By Al Mayadeen English

14 Dec 2025 00:04

A drone strike on a UN camp in Sudan’s South Kordofan killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers, highlighting the escalating conflict, expanding RSF advances, and deepening humanitarian crisis as diplomatic efforts remain stalled.

Six United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed on Saturday after a drone strike hit a UN camp in the city of Kadugli, the capital of Sudan’s South Kordofan state, according to the United Nations mission operating in the area. The attack comes amid an intensifying phase of the war, marked by expanding drone warfare, territorial advances by paramilitary forces, and mounting international pressure.

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) said in a statement that "six troops were killed and six injured", including four critically, when a drone struck their camp. The mission confirmed that all those killed were Bangladeshi nationals serving as peacekeepers.

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus said he was "deeply saddened" by the incident, putting the toll at six dead and eight wounded. He 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 said.

Dhaka’s foreign ministry said it "strongly condemned" the attack.

A medical source in Kadugli earlier told AFP that at least six people were killed when a United Nations facility was struck, with witnesses reporting that those inside the building were UN employees. "Six people were killed in a bombing of the UN headquarters while they were inside the building," the source said. Eyewitnesses added that the strike was carried out by a drone.

Sudan’s army-aligned authorities, based in Port Sudan, accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the attack. In a statement, the Sovereignty Council headed by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan described the incident as a "dangerous escalation".

Siege Deepens

Kadugli has been besieged by the RSF for around a year and a half, and famine was declared in the area in early November. The city lies in South Kordofan, a region that has become a focal point of the conflict as the RSF pushes eastward following its late-October capture of El-Fasher, the Sudanese army’s last major stronghold in Darfur.

The broader Kordofan region occupies a strategic position between RSF-controlled Darfur in the west and army-held territory across northern, eastern, and central Sudan. Analysts say control of the area is crucial for maintaining supply routes and troop movements, and that recent RSF advances are aimed at breaching army defenses in central Sudan as part of a longer-term effort to retake Khartoum.

The attack on UN peacekeepers comes as drone strikes increasingly shape the conflict. In recent weeks, multiple strikes have hit civilian infrastructure in South Kordofan, including a kindergarten and a hospital in the town of Kalogi. According to the World Health Organization, those attacks killed 114 people, including 63 children, underscoring the growing toll on civilians.

International pressure on the RSF has also intensified. The United States recently imposed sanctions on networks it says are financing and recruiting fighters for the paramilitary group, while Britain sanctioned senior RSF commanders over alleged links to mass killings, sexual violence, and attacks on civilians. Despite these measures, fighting has continued to spread across central Sudan.

Mass Displacement

The UN refugee agency has warned that the RSF’s advances in Kordofan and Darfur could trigger a new wave of displacement, compounding what is already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Tens of thousands have been killed since the war erupted in April 2023, millions have been forced from their homes, and large parts of the country face acute food insecurity.

Diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting remain stalled. While US President Donald Trump said last month that he would move to end the conflict following talks in Washington with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, no concrete ceasefire or political breakthrough has so far emerged.