At least 17 people, mostly schoolgirls, were killed by a suicide drone attack on a secondary school and a medical center in southern Sudan.
The war in Sudan is nearing its three-year mark, triggering what the UN called “the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis.” So far, the war has killed 40,000 people, displaced over 15 million, and pushed parts of the country into famine amid cholera outbreaks.
Drone Strike
On Wednesday, a drone attack reportedly carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed at least 17 people, the majority of them schoolgirls, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
In a statement, the war-tracking medical group accused the RSF of attacking a secondary school and the only healthcare center in the village of Shukeiri in White Nile State using an explosive-laden drone. It stressed that the area had no military presence.
The Spokesperson for the Sudan Doctors Network, Dr. Razan Al-Mahdi, said that the victims include women, children, students, teachers, and healthcare personnel.
Furthermore, more than 15 people sustained serious injuries. Those in critical condition have been moved to local hospitals for urgent care.
Speaking to the Associated Press (AP), Dr. Musa al-Majeri, director of the Douiem Hospital, the nearest major medical facility to the village, said that three girls suffered serious injuries; two of them underwent surgeries at the hospital while the third was evacuated to the capital, Khartoum.
Attacks in White Nile
Several cities in the White Nile state have seen heightened RSF drone activity in recent days, reported the Sudan Tribune. These include Kosti, Rabak, and Tandalti.
Drone strikes targeted multiple locations in Kosti and Rabak on Tuesday night, including the Um Dabaker thermal power station. The attack led to the plant’s partial shutdown, causing power outage in Kosti and Rabak – the White Nile state’s two largest cities.
A day earlier, an RSF drone strike hit a university student dormitory in Kosti, resulting in several injuries and severe damage to buildings.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in brutal fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) that has effectively split the country in two.
RSF Crimes
Both the Sudan Doctors Network and al-Majeri blamed the Wednesday drone attack on the RSF, accusing the paramilitary group of escalating the targeting of civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.
“This horrific crime represents a continuation of the violations committed by the RSF in White Nile State,” Dr. Al-Mahdi said.
“Over the past two days, several civilian facilities have been targeted, including a student dormitory, a power station, and several residential neighborhoods, in an escalation that reflects a continued pattern of targeting civilians without regard for international humanitarian law, which criminalizes such acts,” she added.
In light of this, Al-Mahdi pointed to a “dangerous shift” in the RSF’s targeting strategy, as “they no longer distinguish between military targets and civilian facilities.”
Seeking UN Action
Against the backdrop of the RSF’s increased drone strikes against civilian targets, Sudan urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) and other regional and international bodies to condemn these attacks.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry strongly denounced the RSF drone attacks on Al-Obeid, Kosti and Dilling as a “dangerous escalation that constitutes a recurring pattern of crimes targeting civilians and the resources of the Sudanese people.”
The statement added that these attacks “represent full-fledged war crimes that demand accountability and prosecution under international law.”
Consequently, it urged the international community to take decisive measures to halt these attacks and ensure the accountability of the perpetrators, as well as those who support or finance them.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Sudanese government called on the US State Department to designate the RSF as a terrorist organization, citing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism committed by the paramilitary group during the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
This call followed a decision by the US State Department to label the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan as a terrorist organization, accusing the group of receiving support from Iran.
