CAIRO — A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces hit a kindergarten in Kalogi, South Kordofan, killing 50 people, including 33 children, a doctors’ group said. Paramedics at the scene were struck in what the group described as a “second unexpected attack.”
The death toll may rise as communication blackouts in the area hinder reporting. The attack is part of fighting between the RSF and Sudan’s military that began in 2023 and has intensified in the oil-rich Kordofan states.
” Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children’s rights,” UNICEF Representative for Sudan Sheldon Yett said, urging all parties to stop attacks and allow safe, unhindered humanitarian access.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed across the Kordofan states in recent weeks after the RSF seized the besieged city of el-Fasher. Sudanese military aerial strikes on Sunday killed at least 48 people, mostly civilians, in Kauda, South Kordofan.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned Kordofan could face atrocities similar to those seen in el-Fasher, where the RSF’s takeover was marked by executions, rapes, sexual assaults and other abuses. Thousands fled el-Fasher; many are feared killed or trapped.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 40,000 people have been killed and 12 million displaced since the war began, though aid groups say the true toll may be much higher.
