Deadly attack on kindergarten reported in Sudan

A drone attack on the town of Kalogi, in Sudan’s South Kordofan region, reportedly targeted a kindergarten and killed at least 50 people, including 33 children.

A medical organization, the Sudan Doctors Network, and the army blamed the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting the army in Sudan’s civil war, for the attack on Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from the Rapid Support Forces.

In turn, the Rapid Support Forces accused the army of striking a market on Friday in a drone attack in the Darfur region on a fuel depot at the Adre border crossing with Chad.

Sudan has been witnessing an ongoing war since April 2023 when a power struggle broke out between the Rapid Support Forces and the army, who were previously allies.

The reports could not be independently verified.

According to the military-allied Foreign Ministry, the kindergarten was bombed twice with missiles from drones.

She added that civilians and paramedics who rushed to the school were also attacked.

In response to reports of the attack in Kalogi, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said: “Killing children in their school is a horrific violation of children’s rights.”

“Children should never pay the price for conflict,” Sheldon Yett added.

He added that the agency urged “all parties to stop these attacks immediately and allow safe and unimpeded humanitarian aid access to those most in need.”

The Rapid Support Forces accused the army of attacking the Adre crossing because it was being used “to deliver aid and commercial supplies.”

According to Sudan War Monitor, a group of researchers tracking the conflict, the attack caused civilian casualties and severe damage to the market.

The army did not immediately comment on the reports from Darfur.

The region is located between the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and Darfur. It is the region consisting of North Kordofan, South Kordofan, and West Kordofan, and was the front line in the civil war.

The battle for the people of Kordofan – which has a population of about eight million – intensified as the army advanced towards Darfur.