Statement – International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD)
12 March 2026
The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD) strongly condemns the reported drone strike carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Shukairi School in Shukairi village on 11 March 2026, which resulted in the killing of students, teachers, and school staff.
According to information confirmed by the Sudan Doctors Network, 17 people were killed and at least 17 others injured, including 9 students and one medical staff member. Video evidence and geolocation analysis conducted by human rights monitors have reportedly verified the location of the strike by matching visible landmarks in the footage with satellite imagery of the school compound.
Educational facilities are civilian objects protected under international humanitarian law. Attacks against schools, whether deliberate or carried out indiscriminately, may constitute serious violations of the laws of armed conflict and could amount to war crimes. Children and educators must never be targets in any conflict.
This incident forms part of a disturbing pattern of attacks on educational infrastructure in Sudan. In recent weeks alone, the University of Kordofan was reportedly bombed on 22 February, followed by the strike on Qaisan Girls’ Primary School on 27 February, and now the devastating attack on Shukairi School.
Schools should be places of learning, safety, and hope for the future—not sites of violence and death. The continued targeting of educational institutions threatens not only the lives of civilians but also the future of an entire generation of Sudanese children.
IFRD calls for:
• An immediate and independent international investigation into the attack on Shukairi School.
• Accountability for those responsible for attacks on civilian infrastructure and educational institutions.
• Urgent protection of schools, teachers, and students across Sudan in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The international community must not remain silent while Sudan’s children are being killed in places meant for education and protection.
