On June 4, 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) targeted the International University of Africa campus in an air raid, during the clashes with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum. Ten citizens from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were killed. It is unclear if the victims were students.

Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, confirmed the attack on June 5 and called for the bodies to be repatriated to the DRC.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about military forces targeting higher education facilities in armed conflict. Parties to a conflict may only attack legitimate military targets; where a party suspects that a civilian facility — such as a university building — is being used for military purposes, that party has a duty to take every action practicable to verify that this suspicion is correct before initiating an attack. In the event of such an attack, parties must take all practicable precautions to avoid or minimize damage to civilian facilities. Further, parties must refrain from launching attacks which may be expected to cause disproportionate damage to civilian facilities.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65821597
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230607-sudan-army-bombs-university-campus-killing-10-congolese-citizens/
https://www.africanews.com/2023/06/06/sudan-10-drc-congolese-killed-in-khartoum/