Six Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed and six others injured in a drone attack on their base in South Kordofan, Sudan, according to the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). The perpetrators of the attack remain unknown. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack, describing it as a potential war crime. Bangladesh’s interim Prime Minister Hasan Mahmud urged the United Nations for assistance in response to the incident.

UNISFA operates in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, which has been a source of tension since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. The broader conflict involves fighting between Sudan’s army, led by military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces militia led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. This conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths since 2023. The attack on UN peacekeepers exacerbates the instability in the region and raises concerns about the safety of international personnel.