At least 17 people, most of them schoolgirls, were killed on Wednesday when a drone strike blamed on Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a secondary school and a health centre in the village of Shukeiri, White Nile province. The attack also wounded at least 10 people, according to Dr Musa al-Majeri, director of Douiem hospital.
Among the wounded, three girls suffered serious injuries; two underwent surgery at Douiem hospital, while a third was evacuated to the capital, Khartoum. The Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the conflict, reported that those killed included two teachers and a health care worker, and stated there was no military presence in the village.
Both the medical group and al-Majeri blamed the RSF for the strike. The RSF did not respond to a request for comment. Dr Razan Al-Mahdi, a spokesperson for the medical group, condemned the attack as "a horrific crime" and said the RSF had targeted several civilian facilities in the past two days, including a student dormitory and a power station.
The strike is the latest in Sudan's nearly three-year war, which began in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF erupted into open fighting. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, though aid groups say the true number could be much higher. The war has been marked by atrocities including mass killings and gang rapes, investigated by the International Criminal Court as potential war crimes.
