UN Condemns Deadly Drone Strikes on Sudan Children, Hospital

A Sudanese child at Dali camp, Tawila in Darfur. His family fled El Fasher, where ongoing famine was confirmed in October 2025.

As Sudan’s civil war intensified on Monday, top UN officials condemned the killing of dozens of children in drone strikes in South Kordofan, as well as attacks on first responders aiding the wounded.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his shock over multiple drone strikes on 4 December that hit a children’s nursery and a hospital in Kalogi, where injured civilians were receiving treatment.

Echoing these concerns, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that Kalogi Rural Hospital had been struck at least three times, killing 114 people, including 63 children.

Survivors were transferred to Abu Jebaiha Hospital in South Kordofan for treatment, with urgent calls for blood donations and medical support underway, Tedros added. “Disturbingly, paramedics and responders came under attack while moving the injured from the kindergarten to the hospital,” he said.

On the same day, an aid convoy transporting lifesaving supplies to North Darfur was targeted in North Kordofan, seriously injuring the driver of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) truck. Guterres condemned the attack, calling it a “further assault on humanitarian operations at a time of dire need.”

Aid agencies warn that conditions across Sudan remain catastrophic for millions caught in the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In central Kordofan, dire circumstances are worsening as life-saving supplies run low and famine has been confirmed in the state capital, Kadugli.

The UN stressed that the human rights violations reported in El Fasher in recent months must not be repeated in Kordofan. Amid reports of continued foreign involvement, Guterres called on all states with influence over the parties to compel an immediate halt to the fighting and stop arms flows fueling the conflict.

He also renewed his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urged parties to resume talks toward a lasting ceasefire and an inclusive, Sudanese-led political process. “The United Nations stands ready to support genuine steps to end the fighting and chart a path toward durable peace,” his spokesperson said.

The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned of “another wave of atrocities” in Sudan. Since late October, hundreds of civilians have been killed, and tens of thousands displaced by aerial strikes, shelling, and summary executions. More than 45,000 people have fled violence in or near the Kordofan region.

“Safe passage for those escaping famine, death, and destruction is essential and a human rights imperative,” the UN High Commissioner’s office said. WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau called for urgent diplomatic action to prevent further atrocities and help reverse famine conditions.

Currently, over 30 million people in Sudan require humanitarian assistance, with more than nine million internally displaced since fighting erupted in April 2023 between SAF and RSF forces.

This escalating crisis underscores the urgent need for international intervention to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need.