RSF Drone Strike Kills Dozens in Kordofan Kindergarten, Sudan
Sudan Doctors Network Warns Death Toll Likely Higher Amid Communications Blackout
Sudan, PUREWILAYAH.COM — A drone strike carried out by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a kindergarten in the town of Kalogi, killing 50 people — among them 33 children — according to the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN).
The medical group reported that the RSF, alongside its ally from Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), launched “deliberate suicide-drone attacks” on the kindergarten and multiple civilian facilities on Thursday.
Paramedics responding to the scene were struck by a second unexpected attack, SDN said, describing the assault as “a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”
The RSF also bombed Kalogi’s hospital and a government building. The death toll is expected to rise further due to interruptions in telecommunications across the region.
Escalation in Two-Year Conflict Shifts Toward Oil-Rich Kordofan
The attack marks another escalation in the war between the RSF and the Sudanese army. Much of the fighting has shifted from Darfur toward the Kordofan region, where recent weeks have seen hundreds of civilians killed across its three states.
On Monday, Middle East Eye reported that RSF-aligned paramilitaries and rebels abducted 21 children in South Kordofan last week, allegedly intending to recruit them as fighters.
Witnesses and SDN confirmed that boys aged 14 and 15 were among 150 men and youths seized when RSF and SPLM-N forces overran the al-Zallataya gold mine on 24 November.
UN Warns of Atrocities as Civilian Casualties Continue to Rise
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he “feared” new atrocities amid the surge in fighting in Kordofan.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 269 civilians have been killed by airstrikes, artillery fire, and summary executions since the RSF captured the North Kordofan city of Bara on 25 October. The UN says the real number is likely significantly higher due to ongoing communication blackouts.
Reports also cite retaliatory killings, arbitrary detentions, abductions, sexual violence, and forced recruitment — including of children.
Turk noted that the situation in Kordofan mirrors the atrocities committed when the RSF captured the besieged city of El-Fasher, where widespread executions and sexual violence accompanied the assault. Thousands fled the city, while many others remain missing or trapped. (PW)