Sudan: Drone strikes kill 104

Civilians are losing their lives in the fighting between SAF and RSF.

At least 104 civilians have been killed in drone strikes in Sudan's Kordofan region. The attacks in the region have continued since the beginning of this month until Friday. After a week of intense fighting, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured a key army base in Babnusa, West Kordofan. The violence has since escalated.

The violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Outbreaks of cholera and dengue have virtually collapsed the health system, which was already strained. Fighting has shifted from the western Darfur region to the wider Kordofan region. The deadliest attacks were reported on a kindergarten and a hospital in the Kalogi area of ​​South Kordofan. 89 people were killed, including 43 children and eight women.

UN human rights chief Falk Turk has expressed “deep concern” about the escalation of violence. He said the attack on the hospital was a gross violation of international human rights law.

On December 13, a drone strike in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers working for the UN mission. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the incident a “horrific drone attack.” He also said the attack on the peacekeepers could amount to a war crime under international law.

The next day, the Diling military hospital was also attacked, although there were conflicting reports of casualties. The Sudan Doctors Network said nine people were killed and 17 wounded. Observers said the warring parties in the country were now systematically targeting “medical facilities.”

UN officials, meanwhile, said the attack killed six people and wounded 12, many of them medical workers. The pro-government Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) has blamed the RSF for the attacks. However, the paramilitary group has not yet responded to the allegations.

Al Jazeera reports.