Six Bangladeshi “peacekeepers” killed in attack in Sudan

MADRID, December 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Six Bangladeshi soldiers belonging to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) were killed and eight others were injured on Saturday in an attack on a contingent base in Kadugli, Sudan, according to the Bangladesh government.

“Six members of the Bangladesh Army, members of the UN peacekeeping force in Sudan, were killed in a terrorist attack in Abyei on Saturday, December 13. Eight others were injured in the incident,” the press office of the Bangladesh Armed Forces released in a statement.

Sources from the UN mission cited by the ‘Sudan Tribune’ report that there was an attack by three drones against the UNISFA base, specifically against a gas station located inside the compound.

Sources on site reported intense bombardments by militias of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North-Al Hilu (SPLM-N-Al Hilu), led by Abdelaziz al Hilu, allies of the Rapid Support Forces who have been besieging the city for months. The objective would be to force the “blue helmets” to leave the city to facilitate its capture.

CONVICTIONS AND CHARGES

Sudan’s military-controlled government confirmed the attack on a UNISFA barracks in Kadugli and denounced it as the work of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a statement signed by Prime Minister Kamil Idris. RSF has denied any involvement in this affair.

The Sudanese Sovereign Council of Idris thus condemned this aerial bombardment as a violation of the protection due to the UN installations in Kadugli under international humanitarian law. “The government of Sudan holds the RSF terrorist militia fully responsible for this attack and calls on the United Nations and the international community to act decisively and take dissuasive measures to ensure the protection of UN facilities and humanitarian personnel and that those responsible are held accountable under international law,” he said.

A military spokesperson reported three rocket attacks on the Kadugli barracks, which caused a fire in a warehouse and the death of six soldiers.

A spokesperson for the Rapid Support Forces, however, “categorically” denied these accusations. “These are lies, a desperate and pathetic attempt to baselessly accuse our forces,” according to the statement collected by the ‘Sudan Tribune’. Indeed, he recalls that the RSF “protected UN installations and guaranteed the safety of humanitarian workers as has been documented.”

For his part, the head of the transitional government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, condemned the attack and urged the UN to take urgent measures to provide necessary care to the injured “peacekeepers” and expressed support for the families of the victims. He further recalled that the attacks against the “blue helmets” constitute a serious crime against international peace and humanity.

“I am deeply shocked by the death of six of our brave ‘peacekeepers’ and the injuries of eight others while carrying out the noble mission of promoting peace and stability,” Yunus said, highlighting Bangladesh’s “substantial contribution” to the UN peacekeeping forces.

In the same spirit, UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the “terrible drone attack” against the Kadugli logistics base. “I would like to convey my deepest and sincere condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh, to the families of the fallen “peacekeepers” and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he said.

António Guterres stressed that they were supporting the injured with a view to their evacuation. “Attacks against United Nations peacekeeping forces constitute a war crime under international law,” he warned before reminding the parties to the conflict of their obligation to “protect UN personnel and civilians.” “Attacks like today in South Kordofan against peacekeeping troops are unjustifiable,” he stressed.

Sudan’s civil war erupted over deep disagreements over the process of integrating the paramilitary group RSF into the army, a situation that caused the derailment of the open transition after the 2019 overthrow of Omar Hasan al Bashir’s regime, already damaged after the uprising that toppled then-Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok in 2021.

The conflict, marked by the intervention of several countries in support of the warring parties, has plunged the country into one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with millions of displaced people and refugees and international concern over the spread of diseases and damage to critical infrastructure, which prevents hundreds of thousands of victims from receiving treatment.