Sudan: RSF strike on Kordofan kindergarten kills dozens, mostly children

A drone strike by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a kindergarten in South Kordofan, killing 50 people, including 33 children, the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN) said late on Friday.

The group said the RSF and its ally, Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), on Thursday carried out “deliberate suicide-drone attacks" on the kindergarten and several civilian facilities in Kalogi town.

The SDN, a group that has been supporting civilians throughout the course of Sudan's war, said paramedics responding to the scene came under “a second, unexpected attack”.

“This attack constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and is a continuation of the targeting of civilians and vital infrastructure,” it added.

The RSF also bombed the city’s hospital and a government building.

The death toll is likely higher, but communication blackouts in the area have hindered efforts to confirm casualties.

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The strike is the latest escalation in the two-year war between the RSF and the Sudanese army, with much of the fighting now centred in the oil-rich Kordofan region.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed across the three Kordofan states in recent weeks, as heavy fighting moved from Darfur following the RSF’s capture of the besieged city of el-Fasher.

Middle East Eye reported on Monday that the paramilitaries and rebels abducted 21 children in South Kordofan state last week with the intention of recruiting them as fighters.

Two witnesses and the SDN told MEE that the boys, all aged 14 or 15, were among 150 men and youths seized by the RSF and the SPLM-N when they overran al-Zallataya gold mine and the surrounding area on 24 November.

UN fears new atrocities

UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk on Thursday said he “feared" new atrocities in Sudan amid the surge in fierce fighting in the Kordofan region.

The UN Human Rights Office has documented 269 civilian deaths from aerial strikes, artillery shelling and summary executions since the RSF captured the North Kordofan city of Bara on 25 October 25, according to Turk's statement.

It said the toll was probably “much higher”, as telecommunications and internet outages in the city hinder accurate reporting.

“There have also been reports of retaliatory killings, arbitrary detention, abductions, sexual violence and forced recruitment, including of children,” Turk added.

“It is truly shocking to see history repeating itself in Kordofan so soon after the horrific events in el-Fasher.”

The RSF’s violent capture of el-Fasher was accompanied by civilian executions, widespread sexual violence and other abuses. Thousands managed to flee, while many more are believed to have been killed or remain trapped inside the city.