70 people killed in attack on hospital in west Sudan, WHO chief says

Shafaq News/ World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Sunday that the attack on the main Saudi hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in western Sudan resulted in 70 deaths and 19 injuries.

In a post on X, Tedros stated, "At the time of the attack, the hospital was overcrowded with patients receiving care."

Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting the hospital's emergency department in a post on X late Saturday.

However, these accusations have not been independently verified.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the attack, calling it "a violation of international law and humanitarian law," stressing "the need to protect health and humanitarian workers and the importance of restraint and avoiding targeting civilians."

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also condemned the attack in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, calling it "a flagrant and serious violation of international laws, treaties, and UN resolutions, which mandate the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health facilities."

The statement called for the full protection of medical teams and health facilities in Sudan to enable them to carry out their humanitarian duties, "especially given the dire circumstances faced by the brotherly Sudanese people."

Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti."

This conflict has triggered a massive humanitarian disaster, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of over 12 million people, with millions at risk of starvation. Since May 2024, the RSF has been besieging El Fasher, while armed groups allied with the army continue to repel its repeated attempts to seize the city.