CAIRO – The World Health Organization’s chief announced on Monday that the recent drone attacks in Sudan’s Kordofan state have resulted in the deaths of 114 individuals, including 63 children. The strikes, which occurred last week, targeted a kindergarten among other locations.
According to WHO reports, last Thursday saw a series of three drone assaults on Kagoli. The initial strike hit the kindergarten, followed by attacks on paramedics who were aiding survivors, and then a hospital. Initially, the exact number of casualties was unclear due to disruptions in communication.
Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director, expressed his dismay on X, condemning the attacks on civilians and healthcare facilities. He urged an immediate cessation of hostilities and called for improved access to humanitarian and medical aid.
The Sudan Doctor’s Network and Emergency Lawyers, both monitoring civilian-targeted violence in Sudan, attributed the drone strikes to the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Emergency Lawyers released a statement on Saturday, decrying the attack as a blatant breach of international humanitarian law, stressing the need to protect civilians, especially children, and crucial infrastructure.
These attacks occur amidst ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese military, now entering its second year. The World Health Organization reports over 40,000 fatalities and 12 million individuals displaced due to the conflict. Aid organizations caution that the actual death toll could be much higher.
The battle is now concentrating on the oil-rich Kordofan region, after the RSF took over the last military stronghold, el-Fasher, in Darfur, in western Sudan.
The takeover of el-Fasher by the RSF has been mired with violence. There have been reports of executions of civilians, rapes and sexual assaults, and other atrocities. Over 100,000 people have fled since the takeover, according to the UN Migration agency.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned last week that Kordofan could face new atrocities like those in el-Fasher.
The humanitarian situation in the Kordofan region is worsening as famine is also spreading after more than two years of the devastating war. Famine was declared last month in the capital of South Kordofan, Kadugli. Dilling, also in South Kordofan, has reportedly experienced the same hunger conditions as Kadugli.
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