Kordofan, Sudan – December 17, 2025 – At least 104 civilians have been killed in a series of drone attacks across Sudan’s Kordofan region, as fighting between rival military factions escalates in the country’s brutal civil war, now in its third year.

The attacks have intensified since early December, following the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) capture of a key army base in Babnusa, triggering new waves of violence that have displaced tens of thousands and overwhelmed already strained health facilities.

Deadliest Strikes Target Hospitals and Schools

The worst attack occurred in Kalogi, South Kordofan, where a kindergarten and a hospital were hit, resulting in 89 deaths, including 43 children and eight women.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk expressed alarm over the escalation, emphasizing that targeting medical facilities violates international humanitarian law.

In Kadugli, South Kordofan’s capital, drones struck a UN peacekeeping base on December 13, killing six Bangladeshi peacekeepers. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks as “horrific,” noting that targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.

A day later, Dilling Military Hospital was hit, leaving at least six dead and 12 wounded, many of them healthcare workers, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

The conflict has compounded a severe humanitarian situation:

• Cholera and dengue outbreaks are spreading, with 13,609 cholera cases and 730 dengue infections reported in North Kordofan.
• 30% of health facilities in the region are no longer operational due to the violence.
• Over 40,000 civilians have fled North Kordofan, while thousands remain trapped in besieged cities including Kadugli and Dilling.
• In Heglig, nearly 2,000 people were displaced to White Nile state after RSF occupation and transfer under a tripartite agreement.

Conflict Shifts from Darfur to Kordofan

The fighting marks a geographic shift from Darfur in the west to central Kordofan, following the RSF’s October seizure of el-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur. Investigations by Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab reveal the RSF systematically killed civilians attempting to flee and sought to destroy evidence by burning and burying bodies.

International Response

Efforts to broker peace are ongoing:

• SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on December 15, signaling willingness to work with U.S. President Donald Trump on peace initiatives.
• Egypt and the United States jointly condemned “any attempts to divide Sudan” and called for a comprehensive ceasefire.

Sudan remains at the top of the International Rescue Committee’s Emergency Watchlist for the third consecutive year. Since the war began in April 2023, more than 40,000 people have been killed, with over 14 million displaced, according to UN figures. Aid organizations warn the true toll is likely much higher.