DHAKA, Dec 14 (Reuters) – At least six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded in a drone attack on a U.N. base on Saturday in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, Bangladesh’s armed forces said.
Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to U.N. peacekeeping missions and its troops have long been deployed in the volatile region.
“A drone attack was carried out by separatist armed groups on the Kadugali Logistics Base under the UN peacekeeping mission in Abyei, Sudan yesterday (Saturday) from approximately 3:40 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. local time,” the armed forces’ public relations division said in a statement on Sunday.
Bangladesh’s army said earlier that authorities were doing their best to provide medical treatment and rescue operations for those injured.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack in a post on X, expressing his condolences to the families of those killed and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
“Attacks against UN peacekeepers like this one are unjustifiable & may constitute war crimes. I remind everyone of their obligation to protect UN personnel & civilians,” he said.
South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011 following a long civil war, but they failed to agree on the status of several regions that both sides claimed sovereignty over.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Helen Popper)
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