A drone strike targeted a secondary school and a health care centre in the village of Shukeiri in White Nile province, killing at least 17 people, most of them schoolgirls. The attack is blamed on Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to Dr Musa al-Majeri, director of Douiem Hospital, the nearest major medical facility to the village, at least 10 others were wounded, including three girls who suffered serious injuries; two underwent surgeries at the hospital while the third was evacuated to the capital, Khartoum.
The war-tracking Sudan Doctors Network first reported the strike, stating that those killed included two teachers and a health care worker. The group emphasized that there was no military presence in the village. Both the medical group and al-Majeri attributed the strike to the paramilitary RSF, but the RSF did not respond to a request for comment. Dr Razan Al-Mahdi, a spokeswoman for the medical group, said, “This horrific crime represents a continuation of the violations committed by the RSF in the White Nile,” adding that the paramilitaries attacked several civilian facilities in the past two days, including a student dormitory and a power station.
The strike in Shukeiri is the latest deadly attack in Sudan’s nearly three-year war. Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF erupted into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, but aid groups suggest the true toll could be much higher. The fighting has centered in the Kordofan region, where deadly attacks, mostly involving drones, are reported daily.
The war has been marked by atrocities including mass killings, gang rapes, and other crimes, which are being investigated by the International Criminal Court as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity. The most recent atrocities occurred in October when the RSF and its Janjaweed allies overran the Darfur city of el-Fasher. According to UN-commissioned experts, the RSF attack there bore “hallmarks of genocide.” The UN’s Human Rights Office reported that at least 6,000 people were killed in three days in el-Fasher in October.
Source: www.theguardian.com