Children killed in Sudan’s South Kordofan drone attacks as humanitarian crisis worsens
Drone strikes on the army-held town of Kalogi in Sudan’s South Kordofan killed 79 people, including 43 children, hitting a kindergarten and hospital as the wider humanitarian crisis deepens.
Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed in Sudan's South Kordofan state after a series of drone strikes hit the army-controlled town of Kalogi, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The attacks, carried out on Thursday, struck a kindergarten, a hospital, and later a crowd rushing in to help injured children, Kalogi administrator Essam al-Din al-Sayed told AFP.
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Essam accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and fighters loyal to Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North of carrying out the attack.
The incident marks one of the deadliest single strikes in a conflict that has raged between the army and the RSF since April 2023, claiming tens of thousands of lives and displacing nearly 12 million people.
Communication blackouts and widespread insecurity in Kordofan have continued to hamper independent confirmation of casualty figures.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than ten children aged five to seven were among the victims, while Sudan’s foreign ministry reported a total of 79 deaths, including 43 children.
“Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children's rights,” said UNICEF Representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett.
“Children should never pay the price of conflict. Stop these attacks immediately and allow safe, unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to reach those in desperate need.”
The strikes come as the RSF expands deeper into the Kordofan region following its capture of El-Fasher in late October, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in western Sudan.
The region serves as a strategic corridor linking RSF-controlled Darfur in the west with government-held territory in the east and north.
According to analysts, controlling major cities such as El-Obeid would give the RSF a direct route towards the capital, Khartoum, which government forces recaptured earlier this year.
Humanitarian organisations have warned that attacks on civilian facilities, including schools and hospitals, are worsening an already dire crisis in Sudan, leaving vulnerable populations increasingly exposed to violence and deprivation.
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