Sudan's White Nile State School Attack Leaves 17 Dead, Including Students, as RSF Drone Strikes Escalate
A drone attack by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a secondary school and health center in White Nile State has killed at least 17 people, including female students, teachers, and health workers, the Sudanese Doctors Network confirmed Thursday. The strike in the village of Shukeiri also left at least 10 others wounded, according to local hospital officials.
"This horrific crime represents a continuation of the violations committed by the RSF in White Nile State," the medical network stated. Over recent days, civilian sites—including a student dormitory, a power station, and residential neighborhoods—have been targeted in what appears to be a deliberate escalation against non-combatants.
Musa Al-Majri, director of al-Duwaim Hospital, the nearest major medical facility, reported receiving the casualties. The attack underscores a shift in RSF tactics since the paramilitary group was pushed out of the capital, Khartoum, by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in early 2025. RSF operations have since concentrated in the Kordofan region and North Darfur, where the fall of the army's last Darfur stronghold, el-Fasher, last October was followed by widespread reports of atrocities.
Accounts from el-Fasher detail mass killings, rape, and systematic looting, prompting the International Criminal Court to open a formal probe into alleged war crimes by both sides. A recent United Nations report warned that RSF actions in the region bore hallmarks of genocide.
As global attention remains fixed on other conflicts, Sudan's civil war approaches its third year with catastrophic humanitarian consequences. The UN calls it the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis, with over 21 million people facing acute food shortages and 12 million displaced.
Voices from the Region:
"My cousin was a teacher in that school. She believed education was the one thing the war couldn't take. Now she's gone, and so is that hope. When will the world stop looking away?" — Amira Hassan, a nurse in Port Sudan, whose family remains in White Nile State.
"This is not just a battlefield incident—it's a calculated attack on the future of Sudan. Targeting schools is a strategy to cripple a generation. The RSF leadership must be held accountable under international law, not just condemned in reports." — Dr. Omar Farouk, researcher at the Khartoum-based Center for Conflict Studies.
"Enough with the diplomatic statements! They're murdering children in classrooms while we debate 'patterns of violence.' This is genocide in plain sight, and every day of inaction makes the international community complicit." — Layla Abbas, diaspora activist based in Cairo.
"The war has fragmented the country into fiefdoms. What we see in White Nile is a brutal consolidation of control. Without a coordinated regional peace initiative, these attacks will only multiply." — James Okello, regional analyst for the East African Security Forum.