UN chief condemns drone attacks on peacekeeping base in Sudan
United Nations: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the drone attacks that targeted the UN peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan on Saturday.
The attacks resulted in six fatalities and eight injuries — all members of the Bangladeshi peacekeeping contingent serving in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, the UN chief said in a statement on Saturday.
Guterres expressed his “deepest and heartfelt condolences” to the government and people of Bangladesh and to the families of the fallen peacekeepers, and wished a swift recovery to the injured, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and I remind all parties to the conflict of their obligation to protect UN personnel and civilians,” he said. “There will need to be accountability.”
In the statement, the UN chief reiterated the call on the warring parties to agree on an immediate cessation of hostilities and resume talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process.
The Sudanese Armed Forces have accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of carrying out the strike, a claim the RSF has denied.
According to an SAF statement, the drone fired three missiles at the UN headquarters and the Bangladesh Battalion, setting a UN storage facility on fire. All the casualties were members of the Bangladesh Battalion, which is part of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan.
In a separate statement, Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, which backs the SAF, condemned what it described as an RSF drone attack on UN premises in Kadugli, calling it a serious violation of international humanitarian law and the protections afforded to UN facilities.
“Targeting a protected UN facility represents a dangerous escalation and criminal behavior amounting to an organized terrorist act,” the council said, adding that the attack poses a direct threat to humanitarian and international missions.