KHARTOUM, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the drone strike that hit civilian areas in the city of Kalogi in southern Sudan's South Kordofan state on Thursday has risen to 79, among them 43 children, the state government said on Friday.
South Kordofan state government said in a statement that the attack was launched by the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) forces "in coordination with the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia."
It said a drone dropped four missiles and "hit a kindergarten, the Ghadeer Hospital, and several densely populated areas, also injuring 38 people, including 11 children and 6 women."
The state government called on the international community to "take a clear stance" on the attack, designate the RSF as a "terrorist organization" and hold accountable the parties involved in the attacks.
On Thursday, volunteer groups reported that nine people were killed, and seven others injured in the drone strike, blaming it on the RSF and the SPLM-N, which controls vast areas of South Kordofan.
Neither the RSF nor the SPLM-N has commented on the attacks.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted in April 2023, and has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in Sudan, fueling one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. UN humanitarians warned repeatedly that violence in the Kordofan region has sharply escalated recently, triggering large-scale displacement and civilian suffering. ■
