In a devastating escalation of Sudan’s civil conflict, drone strikes targeted a kindergarten and hospital in the town of Kalogi, South Kordofan, resulting in 114 fatalities including 63 children according to United Nations figures. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denounced the Thursday attack as “senseless” while revealing that emergency responders faced secondary attacks during rescue operations.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), engaged in a brutal power struggle with the national army since April 2023, faces accusations from both military authorities and the Sudan Doctors’ Network for executing the assault. Local official Essam al-Din al-Sayed described to AFP how drones struck first a kindergarten, then a hospital, and again as rescuers attempted to evacuate children.
Simultaneously, the RSF announced capture of Sudan’s largest oil field at Heglig near the southern border, describing it as a “pivotal” strategic achievement. Army sources told Reuters that government forces withdrew to protect oil infrastructure, with some personnel reportedly crossing into South Sudan. The Heglig facility processes most of South Sudan’s oil, representing critical revenue for both nations.
The Kordofan region—comprising North, South, and West Kordofan with nearly eight million residents—has become a central frontline as army forces advance toward RSF-controlled Darfur. WHO confirmed survivors were transferred to Abu Jebaiha Hospital amid urgent calls for blood donations and medical support.
Tedros, who previously accused RSF of killing hundreds at el-Fasher hospital in October, stopped short of directly attributing blame for the Kalogi attack but demanded immediate ceasefire through social media: “Sudanese have suffered far too much. Ceasefire now!” The organization’s Attacks on Health Care monitoring system documented 35 additional injuries alongside the 114 fatalities.