RSF Strikes Kill Dozens, Mostly Children, In Kalogi — SAF Sources

Deadly Attacks on Kindergarten and Civilian Sites in Kalogi

Two military sources aligned with the government Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) told Al Jazeera that Rapid Support Forces (RSF) assaults on a kindergarten and other locations in Kalogi, South Kordofan, have killed about 47 people — the majority children — and left roughly 50 others wounded. The sources cautioned that the toll could rise as some of the injured remain in critical condition.

According to the SAF sources, the RSF struck the kindergarten on Thursday and then returned to open fire on civilians who had gathered to help the wounded. The attackers also reportedly bombed the city hospital and a government building.

Earlier Medical Reports And Accusations

The Sudan Doctors Network initially reported at least nine deaths, including four children and two women, describing the incidents as "deliberate suicide-drone attacks" carried out by the RSF and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North (al-Hilou). The network condemned the strikes as "a grave violation of international humanitarian law" and said they continued a pattern of attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure.

“This attack constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”
— Sudan Doctors Network

Wider Context: Escalation In Kordofan

The Kalogi incident is the latest in a series of brutal assaults on civilians in the civil war now entering its third year, pitting the SAF against the paramilitary RSF. The SAF has also been accused of committing atrocities during the conflict.

The United Nations warned that the broader Kordofan region risks another wave of mass atrocities as fierce fighting between rival forces threatens a humanitarian catastrophe. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said history was "repeating itself" in Kordofan after the fall last month of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where warnings about imminent violence were not heeded and large-scale killings followed.

Since late October, when the RSF captured Bara in North Kordofan, the UN has documented at least 269 civilian deaths from aerial bombardment, artillery strikes and summary killings — a figure likely to be an undercount because communication blackouts across the region hinder verification. There are also reports of revenge attacks, arbitrary detentions, sexual violence and the forced recruitment of children.

Territorial Moves And International Response

The RSF has claimed control of the West Kordofan town of Babnusa and released footage of fighters moving through a military base there; the army denies the city has fallen. Strategically, Kordofan sits between RSF-controlled Darfur in the west and government-held areas to the east and north, creating a crucial corridor that could provide the RSF a direct route toward Khartoum if major towns such as el-Obeid fall.

Human-rights organizations have called for investigations. Amnesty International has urged probes into possible war crimes, and the European Union has imposed sanctions on Abdelrahim Dagalo, the RSF deputy and brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo.

Uncertainty And Ongoing Risk

Verification remains difficult because of communication blackouts and ongoing combat. Independent confirmation of the SAF casualty figures was not available at the time of reporting. The UN and rights groups are urging international action to prevent further mass atrocities and to secure humanitarian access to affected areas.