<\/p>\n
A drone strike hit a United Nations facility in war-torn Sudan on Saturday, killing six peacekeepers, the UN secretary general Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> has said.<\/p>\n The strike hit the peacekeeping logistics base in the city of Kadugli, in the central region of Kordofan, Guterres said in a statement.<\/p>\n Eight other peacekeepers were wounded in the strike. All the victims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN interim security force for Abyei (Unisfa).<\/p>\n \u201cAttacks targeting United Nations<\/a> peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,\u201d said Guterres, who called for those responsible for the \u201cunjustifiable\u201d attack to be held accountable.<\/p>\n The Sudanese military blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious paramilitary group that has been at war with the army for control of the country for more than two years. There was no immediate comment from the RSF.<\/p>\n The attack \u201cclearly reveals the subversive approach of the rebel militia and those behind it\u201d, the military said in a statement. The military posted a video on social media showing plumes of dense black smoke over what it said was the UN facility.<\/p>\n The oil-rich Abyei is a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan<\/a>, and the UN mission has been deployed there since 2011, when South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan.<\/p>\n Guterres also called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan to allow \u201ca comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process\u201d to settle the conflict in the north-east African country.<\/p>\n Sudan was plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people \u2013 a figure rights groups consider a significant undercount.<\/p>\n The fighting has recently centred on Kordofan, particularly since the RSF took control of El Fasher<\/a>, the military\u2019s last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.<\/p>\n