Drone strike on a mosque kills 2 children in Sudan's Kordofan region

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CAIRO (AP) — A drone strike at a mosque killed two children and injured 13 others in Sudan ’s central region of Kordofan early Wednesday, a local doctors group said, as the country's civil war continues.

The Sudan Doctors Network, which monitors the conflict, said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which are fighting the army, carried out the strike in al-Rahad city in North Kordofan.

A spokesperson from the doctors' network, Mohamed Elsheikh, told The Associated Press that the children had been attending a lesson at dawn.

Targeting children inside mosques "represents a dangerous escalation in the pattern of repeated violations against civilians,” the network added.

There was no immediate RSF comment.

The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising. The World Health Organization says the fighting has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million.

Aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher, as the fighting in vast and remote areas impedes access.

The Sudan Doctors Network called attacks on places of worship part of a “systematic pattern” that undermines the sanctity of religious sites.

More than 15 mosques have been damaged, burned or bombed partially or completely and over 165 churches have been destroyed or closed throughout the war, according to figures reported last year.

Separately, the International Rescue Committee said Wednesday that several hundred shelters were burned down overnight in a camp for displaced people in the town of Tawila in North Darfur. The camp has seen an influx of Sudanese who escaped el-Fasher city, which fell to the RSF in October.

The IRC said that 500 households were affected by the overnight fires. It was not clear what caused the blaze.

“Families living in Tawila have already endured unimaginable hardship; many have fled violence multiple times, lost loved ones, and are living with deep trauma and acute shortages of food, water and healthcare. To see what little they had left go up in flames is heartbreaking,” said Zeleke Bacha, IRC’s West Sudan Director, in the statement.

On Saturday, a drone attack by the RSF hit a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said recently the Kordofan region remains "volatile and a focus of hostilities” as the warring parties vie for control of strategic areas.