In a devastating escalation of Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict, a drone strike conducted by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted a kindergarten in South Kordofan, resulting in one of the deadliest single incidents against civilians since the war began. According to the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN), the attack killed 50 people, including 33 children, marking what humanitarian organizations are calling a grave violation of international law.
The assault, which occurred on Thursday in Kalogi town, involved coordinated attacks on multiple civilian facilities including the kindergarten, a local hospital, and government buildings. The SDN reported that paramedics responding to the initial explosion faced a secondary attack while attempting to rescue victims, complicating rescue efforts and increasing casualties.
Communication blackouts throughout the region have hampered accurate casualty assessment, with authorities fearing the actual death toll may be significantly higher. The attack represents a strategic shift in the two-year conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army, with fighting now concentrated in the oil-rich Kordofan region following the RSF’s recent capture of el-Fasher in Darfur.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk expressed deep concern over emerging atrocities, citing documented evidence of 269 civilian deaths from aerial strikes, artillery shelling, and summary executions since late October. The UN office has additionally received reports of retaliatory killings, arbitrary detentions, abductions, sexual violence, and forced recruitment of children by paramilitary forces.
The situation in South Kordofan has deteriorated rapidly, with Middle East Eye reporting the abduction of 21 children last week for potential recruitment as fighters. Witnesses confirm that RSF forces and allied rebel groups have intensified operations around strategic resources, including gold mines in the region.
This incident underscores the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where international organizations warn of repeating patterns of violence previously witnessed in Darfur, now spreading through the Kordofan states with devastating effect on civilian populations.