At least six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and eight injured in an attack on a United Nations base in Abyei, Sudan, the Bangladesh Army said on Saturday. The situation in the area remains unstable with ongoing clashes, according to the army’s statement. Authorities are providing medical treatment and conducting rescue operations for those injured.
Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions, and its troops have long been deployed in Abyei, a volatile region disputed between Sudan and South Sudan.
The Bangladeshi army confirmed in a statement on Facebook that the incident took place in Abyei and that fighting was continuing. There was no immediate comment from the UN mission.
The Sudanese government condemned the attack on the UN facility. The army-aligned government based in Port Sudan accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of being behind the attack. In a statement, the Sovereignty Council headed by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan called the attack a “dangerous escalation.”
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) peacekeeping mission was deployed in 2011. The oil-rich Abyei Administrative Area is administered by both South Sudan and Sudan, with both claiming stakes. The region has been embroiled in conflict for years. The mission mandate was renewed last month.
According to additional reports, UNISFA stated that six troops were killed and six injured, including four seriously, when a drone struck their camp in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state. All victims were from Bangladesh.
UN chief Antonio Guterres condemned the attack as “horrific,” stating it “may constitute war crimes under international law.” He said attacks against peacekeepers are unjustifiable and that there will need to be accountability.
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack and confirmed the toll of six dead and eight wounded. He requested the UN ensure his country’s personnel receive any necessary emergency support. The government of Bangladesh pledged to stand by the families affected. Dhaka’s foreign ministry strongly condemned the attack.
A medical source reported that six people were killed in the bombing of the UN headquarters while inside the building. Eyewitnesses confirmed that a drone hit the UN facility. The Sudanese army published a video showing fires blazing and two columns of smoke rising from the UNISFA base.
The RSF issued a statement on Telegram rejecting claims that they were behind the air attack on the United Nations headquarters in Kadugli, calling the accusations false. Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris urged the UN to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Kadugli, where famine was declared in early November, has been besieged for a year and a half by the RSF. The city is located in South Kordofan, where the RSF has pushed eastward following their late-October capture of El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Kordofan is a vast agricultural region positioned between RSF-controlled Darfur in the west and army-held areas in the north, east, and center. Its strategic position is important for maintaining supply lines and moving troops. The RSF has been at war with the military since April 2023 and has deployed fighters, drones, and allied militias to the fertile region.
Last week, strikes on a kindergarten and hospital in Kalogi in South Kordofan killed 114 people, including 63 children, according to the UN’s World Health Organization.
Sudan’s war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and resulted in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Efforts to end the war have so far failed.
