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

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.

Network spokesperson Mohamed Elsheikh told The Associated Press that the children had been attending a Quran 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.

Drone attacks have been common.

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 has said the Kordofan region remains "volatile and a focus of hostilities” as the warring parties vie for control of strategic areas.