In a devastating attack that has shocked the international community, approximately 70 people, including patients seeking care, were killed when rebel forces assaulted the only operational hospital in the besieged Sudanese city of El Fasher. The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal hospital marks a horrific escalation in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, which has already claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the assault left an additional 19 people injured at the hospital, which was already struggling to provide care amidst the conflict. “At the time of the attack, the hospital was packed with patients receiving care,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement condemning the violence.
Rebel Forces Blamed for Hospital Massacre
Local officials have pointed the finger at the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a rebel group that has recently suffered setbacks against the Sudanese military and its allied forces under the command of army chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan. The RSF has been besieging El Fasher, now home to over 1 million people including many displaced by the war, since May 2024.
Civilians in El Fasher have already endured months of suffering, violence and gross human rights abuses under the prolonged siege. Their lives now hang in the balance due to an increasingly precarious situation.
– Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan
International Condemnation and Mediation Attempts
The attack on the hospital has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry denounced it as “a violation of international law.” The United States has also accused the RSF and its proxies of committing genocide in the conflict.
Despite pressure tactics like sanctions targeting General Burhan and mediation attempts, the fighting has only intensified in recent days. The RSF appeared to lose control of a crucial oil refinery, while Burhan’s forces claim to have broken an RSF siege on a key military base.
Rising Civilian Toll and Humanitarian Crisis
The hospital attack is the latest tragedy in a civil war that has been raging since hostilities broke out between the RSF and the Sudanese military in April 2023, following a 2021 coup that derailed Sudan’s democratic transition. Estimates suggest well over 28,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far.
- Over 1,140 civilians injured and 782 killed in El Fasher siege alone (as of December 2024)
- Millions forced to flee their homes across Sudan
- Some families resorting to eating grass as famine spreads
The WHO has called for an immediate end to attacks on health care in Sudan and restoration of damaged medical facilities. “Above all, Sudan’s people need peace,” Ghebreyesus emphasized. “The best medicine is peace.”
But with the warring factions showing no signs of backing down, and international efforts failing to halt the violence, peace remains elusive for the millions of Sudanese civilians caught in the crossfire of this devastating conflict. The attack on El Fasher’s hospital stands as a tragic reminder of their immense suffering.
