United News of Bangladesh

A passenger ferry capsized on the Nile River in Sudan on Wednesday, leaving at least 15 people dead, a medical group said. The ferry, with at least 27 people on board, including women and children, sank in the Shendi district in northern Nile River province, said the Sudan Doctors Network, a medial group that tracks the country’s ongoing war. The group said at least 15 bodies have been recovered, while residents and rescue teams were still searching for at least six other people. Six people survived the tragedy, it said. The group urged authorities to deploy specialized rescue teams and equipment to accelerate search efforts. Such tragedies on overloaded boats are not uncommon on waterways in the African nation, where safety measures are often disregarded.

A drone attack by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces struck a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan on Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, doctors said. The Sudan Doctors Network said the attack took place near the town of Rahad in North Kordofan province. The vehicle was transporting civilians who had fled fighting in the Dubeiker area. Among the dead were two infants, the group said. Several others were injured and rushed to medical facilities in Rahad, where hospitals are facing acute shortages of medicine and equipment, similar to much of the wider Kordofan region. The doctors’ group urged the international community and human rights organisations to take immediate steps to protect civilians and hold the RSF leadership accountable for what it described as grave violations. There was no immediate response from the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese military for nearly three years for control of the country. The attack came a day after an aid convoy of the World Food Programme was targeted in North Kordofan. The strike killed one person and wounded several others, said Denise Brown, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. Brown said the convoy was on its way to deliver life-saving food assistance to displaced people in the city of Obeid when it was hit. The trucks were burned and the food aid destroyed. “Attacks on humanitarian operations undermine efforts to reach people suffering from hunger and displacement,” Brown said in a statement. She added that last week another drone strike landed near a WFP facility in Blue Nile province, injuring a WFP staff member. The Emergency Lawyers group, which documents abuses in Sudan, blamed the RSF for the aid convoy attack. The Sudan Doctors Network described it as a serious breach of international humanitarian law and a possible war crime. US adviser for African and Arab affairs Massad Boulos condemned the attack, saying the destruction of food aid and killing of humanitarian workers was unacceptable and called for accountability. Kordofan has emerged as a key battleground in recent months. Earlier this year, the Sudanese army managed to break RSF sieges on two major cities in the region. Sudan has been in turmoil since April 2023, when tensions between the military and the RSF erupted into open war. According to UN estimates, more than 40,000 people have been killed, though aid groups say the true toll is far higher. The conflict has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, forcing more than 14 million people from their homes, spreading disease and pushing parts of the country into famine as fighting continues unabated.

Famine is tightening its grip on Sudan’s western Darfur region, with two additional towns now confirmed to be suffering from extreme hunger, according to a global food security monitoring body, as the country’s devastating war continues unabated. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said on Thursday that famine conditions have been identified in Umm Baru and Kernoi in Darfur. The warning comes months after the group reported famine in el-Fasher, the region’s largest city, which has been under siege for about 18 months and at times overrun by Sudanese paramilitary forces. Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when a power struggle between the national military and the Rapid Support Forces erupted into full-scale fighting. The war has displaced millions and pushed the country into what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The IPC had earlier said famine was also present in Kadugli, a city in South Kordofan province, and warned that at least 20 other areas across Sudan were at high risk of slipping into famine. The latest IPC report coincided with a deadly attack on Thursday in South Kordofan, where paramilitary forces struck a military hospital in the town of Kouik. At least 22 people were killed, including the hospital’s medical director and three other medical staff, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Network, which monitors the conflict. Eight others were wounded in the attack, though it was not immediately clear how many of the casualties were civilians. As fighting continues across large parts of the country, humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned that access constraints, insecurity and collapsing health and food systems are accelerating hunger and preventable deaths, particularly in conflict-affected regions such as Darfur and South Kordofan.

The bodies of six Bangladeshi peacekeepers who were killed in a drone attack by separatist forces in Sudan arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Saturday (December 20, 2025). A flight of Emirates Airline, carrying the bodies of the Bangladeshi peacekeepers landed at the Airport on Saturday morning, according to a media release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The Chief of General Staff of the Bangladesh Army, Lieutenant General Mizanur Rahman Shamim, received the bodies. Read more: Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in Sudan: Condolences keep pouring in from international community After a namaz-e-janaza at the Central Mosque of Dhaka Cantonment, the peacekeepers’ bodies will be sent to their respective villages by helicopter and they will be buried with full military honour. Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and nine others were injured in a drone attack on the Kadugli logistics base under the UN mission in the Abeï area of Sudan on December 13. The injured personnel are receiving treatment at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. One of them has already been discharged, while the remaining peacekeepers are reported to be out of danger, the ISPR said. Read more: Another Bangladeshi peacekeeper injured in Sudan drone attack

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed his deepest and heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh, to the families of the fallen peacekeepers, and wished a swift recovery to the injured. “Support is being provided to the wounded peacekeepers ahead of their evacuation,” he said in a statement. The UN chief strongly condemned the horrific drone attacks that targeted the United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, on December 13, 2025, resulting in six fatalities and eight injuries – all members of the Bangladeshi peacekeeping contingent serving in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). He said attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law and he reminded all parties to the conflict of their obligation to protect UN personnel and civilians. Read more: Int’l community mourns six Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in Sudan “Attacks as the one today in South Kordofan against peacekeepers are unjustifiable. There will need to be accountability,” said the UN chief.  He expressed his solidarity with the thousands of peacekeepers who continue to serve under the blue flag in the most dangerous of environments. The UN chief reiterated his call on the warring parties to agree on an immediate cessation of hostilities and to resume talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process. Meanwhile, the German Embassy in Dhaka extended its heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers who lost their lives in Sudan. “We wish the injured a swift and full recovery.” Read more: Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed, injured in Sudan identified The Embassy said Germany is committed to standing up for international peace and security and continues to be a steadfast supporter of UN peacekeeping, through significant financial contributions, personnel, and training. “We deeply value Bangladesh’s vital and courageous contribution to peace and security worldwide,” reads a message from the Embassy. Canada also extended its deepest condolences to the families of the Bangladeshi peacekeepers who recently lost their lives in Sudan, and wished a quick recovery to the injured. “We honour their courage and sacrifice in the service of peace and express our solidarity with the people and the Government of Bangladesh, as well as with the UN peacekeeping community, during this difficult time,” said the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka. Pakistan also condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the heinous attack against UN peacekeepers in Kadugli, Sudan. Read more: Guterres condemns drone attack in Sudan that killed Bangladeshi peacekeepers Pakistan expressed its deepest condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh on the loss of these precious lives, and stands in solidarity with the bereaved families in this tragic hour. The Pakistan government said UN peacekeepers remain at the forefront of international efforts to prevent conflict, protect civilians, and support peace under the UN flag. “We pay homage to the ultimate sacrifice made by these Blue Helmets in the line of duty for peace and stability in the region,” said the South Asian country. Pakistan called for a swift investigation to identify the perpetrators of this cowardly attack and to hold those responsible accountable. “We will also continue to work closely with members of the UN Security Council and the international community to ensure the safety and security of all UN peacekeepers.” Earlier on Sunday, the international community, including the European Union (EU), the United States, the United Kingdom and France, stood beside Bangladeshi peacekeepers and extended their condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the six Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan. Read more: Bangladeshi peacekeepers' deaths: UN chief calls CA Yunus to offer condolences

Six Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed and eight others injured when terrorists attacked a United Nations base in Sudan's Abyei,  Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday (December 13, 2025). ISPR said the attack took place amid ongoing fighting in the area, adding that the war is still continuing. Read more: Dhaka requests UN to ensure best possible treatment for injured peacekeepers The military’s media wing did not provide further details about the circumstances of the attack or the condition of the injured peacekeepers.

Sudan's notorious paramilitary group launched a two-day attack on famine-hit camps for displaced people that left more than 100 dead, including 20 children and nine aid workers, in the Darfur region, a UN official said Saturday. The Rapid Support Forces and allied militias launched an offensive on the Zamzam and Abu Shorouk camps and the nearby city of el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, on Friday, said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Clementine Nkweta-Salami, AP reports. El-Fasher is under the control of the military, which has fought the RSF since Sudan descended into civil war two years ago, killing more than than 24,000 people, according to the United Nations, though activists say the number is likely far higher. The camps were attacked again on Saturday, Nkweta-Salami said in a statement. She said that nine aid workers were killed “while operating one of the very few remaining health posts still operational” in Zamzam camp. “This represents yet another deadly and unacceptable escalation in a series of brutal attacks on displaced people and aid workers in Sudan since the onset of this conflict nearly two years ago,” she said. Nkweta-Salami didn’t identify the aid workers but Sudan’s Doctors’ Union said in a statement that six medical workers with the Relief International were killed when their hospital in Zamzam came under attack on Friday. South Sudan teetering on the edge of renewed civil war, UN envoy says In a statement Saturday evening, Relief International mourned the death of its nine workers, saying they were killed the previous day in a “targeted attack on all health infrastructure in the region,” including the group’s clinic. The group said the central market in Zamzam along with hundreds of makeshift homes in the camp were destroyed in the attack. The offensive forced about 2,400 people to flee the camps and el-Fasher, according to the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees, a local group in Darfur. Zamzam and Abu Shouk shelter more than 700,000 people who have been forced to flee their homes across Darfur during past bouts of fighting in the region, Nkweta-Salami said.

A paramilitary assault on an open market in Omdurman, Sudan, left 54 people dead and at least 158 wounded, health officials reported Saturday.  The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked Sabrein Market in the latest violent escalation of Sudan’s ongoing civil war. The conflict, which began in April 2023, has devastated the northeastern African nation, AP reports.  There was no immediate response from the RSF regarding the attack.  Government spokesperson Khalid al-Aleisir, who also serves as Sudan’s culture minister, condemned the assault, stating that many women and children were among the victims. He described the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law.  “This criminal act only adds to the militia’s history of brutality,” he said in a statement.  US military conducts airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia According to Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate, a mortar shell exploded just meters from al-Naw Hospital, which received most of the casualties. The syndicate reported a severe shortage of medical personnel, particularly surgeons and nurses.  Chris Lockyear, secretary general of Doctors Without Borders, was at the hospital when the injured began arriving.  “There are scores of people with devastating wounds, and the morgue is overflowing,” he said. “It’s a horrific scene, another example of this relentless war on civilians.”  A video posted by Al Arabiya TV correspondent Nezar Bogdawi showed body bags lined up outside the hospital and wounded individuals receiving treatment on the floor.  Sudan’s military later announced it had driven RSF fighters out of several areas in Gezira state.  Last week, an RSF assault on a hospital in El Fasher, Darfur, killed around 70 people.  The war has claimed over 28,000 lives, displaced millions, and led to famine. The International Criminal Court is investigating war crimes, while the US has accused the RSF of genocide.

A small plane crash in a remote region of South Sudan on Wednesday resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people, an official confirmed. According to Gatwech Bipal, the minister of information in Unity state, the flight was chartered by the Chinese oil company Greater Pioneer Operating Company and had 21 people on board, including two pilots. The crash occurred as the plane was taking off near an oil field, preparing to head toward Juba’s international airport. Some 70 people killed in attack on hospital in Sudan's Darfur region, WHO chief says The cause of the crash remains unknown, and authorities have yet to disclose the identities of the victims. Local media reports suggest that oil workers were among those on board.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announced plans to pursue arrest warrants against those accused of committing atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur region, where paramilitary forces have reportedly engaged in ethnic cleansing amid a 19-month conflict with government forces. Addressing the U.N. Security Council on Monday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan emphasized that crimes are currently being used as weapons of war in Darfur. This conclusion, he stated, is based on a rigorous analysis of evidence gathered by his office. Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 due to escalating tensions between military and paramilitary leaders, starting in Khartoum and spreading to Darfur. The region has a grim history of genocide and war crimes, particularly by the Janjaweed militias, which killed up to 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million during the early 2000s. Trump’s Palestinian refugee idea falls flat with Arab allies and confounds a Republican senator Khan highlighted the ongoing involvement of government forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – a paramilitary group evolved from the Janjaweed – in alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. He noted “very clear echoes” of the 2003 atrocities in the current conflict, with the same groups and communities suffering anew. The Biden administration recently declared the RSF and its affiliates responsible for genocide during Sudan’s ongoing civil war. Human Rights Watch has also reported intensified attacks by the RSF and allied militias on non-Arab ethnic groups, including the Masalit, in El Geneina, West Darfur’s capital, during 2023. Thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced during these assaults. Khan confirmed that the ICC is preparing applications for arrest warrants related to alleged crimes in West Darfur, with particular attention to gender-based violence against women and girls. While no specific names or charges were disclosed, he stressed the urgent need for compliance with international humanitarian law to prevent further suffering. Some 70 people killed in attack on hospital in Sudan's Darfur region, WHO chief says Efforts to engage with the RSF included recent meetings between ICC representatives and paramilitary leaders. Khan expressed hope for meaningful action and vowed to monitor the situation closely. He concluded with an appeal for humanity, urging all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law “not as a charity, but as a necessity dictated by humanity.”