Port Sudan, October 31 (Darfur24)
The Sudanese Ministry of Health said on Thursday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed more than 460 patients and their companions at a health facility in El Fasher, North Darfur, an accusation the RSF has denied, describing it as baseless and fabricated.
In a statement, the ministry said that the RSF “killed more than 460 innocent civilian patients and companions at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher.”
It also reported the killing of seven medical staff members from the Kuwaiti Patients Relief Organization and five others from the Sudanese Red Crescent in Bara, North Kordofan, in separate attacks allegedly carried out by RSF personnel.
Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim condemned the incidents, describing attacks on medical facilities and personnel as “a flagrant violation of international conventions and crimes against humanity.”
“Hospitals and health facilities must remain safe and neutral spaces, not turned into killing fields and scenes of terror,” he said.
Ibrahim called on the international community, human rights organizations, and UN bodies to take urgent action to hold those responsible accountable and to ensure the protection of medical workers and facilities.
For its part, the RSF issued a statement denying the allegations, describing them as “false claims propagated by hostile parties.”
“These claims are not based on any facts, especially since there were no functioning hospitals in the city after civilians had already fled,” the RSF statement said.
It added that the allegations were part of “a coordinated propaganda campaign aimed at misleading public opinion and international organizations.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier condemned the killings and described them as “appalling and deeply shocking.”
The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Denise Brown, emphasized that all atrocities must be documented so that “justice can be served.”