El Fasher – Darfur24
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is “appalled and deeply shocked” by reports that 460 patients and their companions were killed at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in the city of El Fasher, North Darfur.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement on Wednesday, said that before this latest incident, the organization had verified 285 attacks on healthcare in Sudan, resulting in 1,204 deaths and more than 400 injuries among health workers and patients since the conflict began in April 2023.
“All attacks on healthcare must stop immediately and unconditionally,” said Tedros, urging protection for health workers and civilians under international law.
The fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, which started in Khartoum, has since engulfed much of the country, including Darfur.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), many civilians fleeing the RSF takeover of El Fasher have reached Tawila, about 60 kilometers away. “Many have arrived dehydrated, injured, and traumatized,” OCHA said, adding that UN agencies and partners are providing urgent assistance despite ongoing violence.
Children at Risk
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that an estimated 130,000 children in El Fasher are at risk of “grave rights violations,” including abduction, killing, maiming, and sexual violence.
“No child is safe,” Russell said, calling for an immediate ceasefire, safe humanitarian access, and protection for civilians, especially children.
She stressed that all those responsible for violations must be held accountable.
Red Cross Staff Killed in Bara
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in a statement, expressed deep sorrow over the killing of five local volunteers in Bara, North Kordofan State.
“We received this news with profound shock and outrage and condemn in the strongest possible terms this horrific and senseless act,” the ICRC said in a statement.
The organization reaffirmed its commitment to continue humanitarian operations across Sudan and to “uphold the safety, dignity, and protection of all people affected by the conflict.”
Denise Brown, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, said it remains difficult to verify information from El Fasher due to communication blackouts, but emphasized that all atrocities must be documented so that “justice can be served.”