This is a locator map of Sudan with its capital Khartoum.
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CAIRO – A Sudanese paramilitary drone attack on a kindergarten in south-central Sudan killed 50 people, including 33 children, a group of doctors said.
Paramedics at the scene in the town of Kalogi in South Kordofan state were the target of a “second surprise attack,” the group said in a statement late Friday.
The death toll is expected to be higher, but a communications blackout in the area has made it difficult to report casualties.
Thursday's attack is the latest in fighting between the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, also known as RSF, and the Sudanese military, which has been at war for more than two years. It is now concentrated in the oil-rich state of Kordofan.
“Killing children in school is a terrible violation of children's rights,” UNICEF Sudan representative Sheldon Yett said in a statement on Friday.
“Children should never pay the price for conflict,” Yett said.
He said UNICEF calls on all parties to “immediately stop these attacks and ensure safe and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance to those who desperately need it.”
Hundreds of civilians have been killed across Kordofan state in the past few weeks as active fighting has shifted from Darfur after the RSF captured the besieged town of El Fasher.
Air strikes by the Sudanese military on Sunday in Kauda, South Kordofan, killed at least 48 people, mostly civilians.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk has warned that Kordofan could face more atrocities similar to those in El Fasher.
The RSF's violent takeover of El Fasher was marked by executions of civilians, rape, sexual assault and other atrocities. Thousands of people have fled and thousands more are feared killed or trapped in the city.
The RSF and the Sudanese military have been fighting for power over Sudan since 2023. The war has killed more than 40,000 people and forced 12 million from their homes, according to the World Health Organization. However, aid groups say the true death toll could be much higher.
