Sudan has insisted that the drone attacks on the Kadguli logistics base by Rapid Support Forces last December constituted a war crime and accused the United Arab Emirates of complicity through its supply of drones.
The acting permanent representative of Sudan to the UN, Ammar Mohammed, spoke during the Security Council meeting on the United Nations Interim Force in Abyei on Thursday. The conflict in Sudan and the instability in South Sudan were discussed during the meeting.
Six peacekeepers from Bangladesh were killed, and nine others were injured in the attack on the base on December 13, 2025.
Mr Mohammed urged the Security Council to hold the UAE responsible and to publish the findings of its investigation with “utmost transparency.”
He reaffirmed his country’s commitment to “the legitimate regulatory framework” governing the situation in Abyei, including the 2011 Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area.
The diplomat announced Sudan’s readiness to establish the Joint Police, Joint Administration, and Joint Legislative Council, expressing hope that South Sudan will also comply with the 2011 agreement.
Mr Mohammed cautioned against measures that hinder UNISFA’s mandates—monitoring and verifying the redeployment of forces from the region, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, and protecting civilians.
He maintained that neither Sudan nor South Sudan must have a military presence at the border.
“Sudan does not have any military presence in the demilitarised area,” he affirmed.
During the meeting, UN assistant secretary-general for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee voiced concerns about worsening security in Abyei, Sudan, resulting from increased crime, proliferation of weapons, and non-state armed groups.
Decrying the escalating security conditions in Sudan over the past six months, Ms Pobee described the drone attack as “a profound operational setback” for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism.
On December 18, UNISFA announced the suspension of its presence in the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone following the “heinous attack” on the logistics base.
According to UNISFA—established in 2011 in Abyei, the disputed oil-rich region between Sudan and South Sudan—at least 196 security incidents, 58 fatalities, and 69 injuries have been recorded in six months.
Sudan and South Sudan’s dispute over the oil-rich Abyei region has persisted since 2011, when the latter gained formal independence.
