A deadly drone strike hit a kindergarten in Kalogi, South Kordofan, on Thursday, killing at least 50 people, CNN reported, citing the Sudan Doctors’ Network. The attack, blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, occurred amid ongoing clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese military. The victims included 33 children.
A second strike hit paramedics treating survivors, rights groups said. Emergency Lawyers said the attackers also hit another nearby civilian site and described the strikes as violations of international humanitarian law. Communication blackouts in the region reportedly prevented confirmation of casualties.
Humanitarian officials said the violence surged as fighting shifted into the oil-rich Kordofan states after the RSF takeover of el-Fasher. UNICEF’s Sheldon Yett said that assailants committed a horrific breach of children’s rights by killing them in their school and urged all parties to stop the attacks and allow humanitarian access.
The United Nations warned that the region could face atrocities similar to those documented in Darfur. Additional airstrikes in Kauda on Sunday reportedly killed at least 48 civilians.
The RSF separately accused Sudan’s military of a drone raid near the Chad-Sudan border, though casualties were unclear. WHO figures indicated more than 40,000 deaths since the conflict began in 2023, though aid groups suggested the real toll was far higher.