A drone attack has hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan, killing six peacekeepers, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
The attack on Saturday hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement.
Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike.
All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
“I strongly condemn the horrific drone attacks that targeted the United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan,” Guterres said in a statement.
“Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” he added.
“Attacks as the one today in South Kordofan against peacekeepers are unjustifiable.
The Sudanese army blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group.
The army and the RSF have been engaged in a civil war for more than two years.
The attack “clearly reveals the subversive approach of the rebel militia and those behind it”, the Sudanese army said in a statement.
The military posted a video on social media showing plumes of dense black smoke over what it said was the UN facility.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, in a statement, said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack, and put the toll at six dead and eight wounded.
He asked the UN to ensure that his country’s personnel were offered “any necessary emergency support”.
The international significance depends on official statements, diplomatic follow-up and any humanitarian, trade, security or travel implications that emerge after the first report.
